Electronic screen use and mental well-being of 10-12-year-old children
Keywords
child
screen use
mental well-being
electronics
iceland
Publication details
| DOI: | 10.1093/eurpub/cks102 |
| Issued: | 2012 |
| Language: | English |
| Volume: | 23 |
| Issue: | 3 |
| Start Page: | 492 |
| End Page: | 498 |
| Editors: | |
| Authors: | Yang F.; Helgason A.; Sigfusdottir I.; Kristjansson A. |
| Type: | Journal article |
| Journal: | The European Journal of Public Health |
| Publisher: | Oxford University Press (OUP) |
| Topics: | Wellbeing; Internet usage, practices and engagement |
| Sample: | The present study used population-wide cross-sectional data from the 2007 Youth in Iceland study, which is a population-based survey that monitors trends in a wide range of demographic and health-related variables in 10–12-year-old children in all primary schools in Iceland. The survey was conducted by the Icelandic Center for Social Research and Analysis (ICSRA) in collaboration with the Icelandic Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. A total of 10 829 students completed the questionnaire (response rate: 81.7% of the national Icelandic population, boys: 50.5%). An estimated 90% of the approximately 320 000 inhabitants of Iceland are of Norse-Celtic descent, with 80% of the population belonging to the Lutheran State Church and no other religious institution having >3.0% of the population registered in its services; consequently, exogenous variables, such as race and religion, which are often used in research in other countries, were not included in the present analyses. |
Abstract
Background: Today’s children spend a great deal of time viewing electronic screen material, but the consequences of such behaviors, if any, are unknown. This study sought to identif (i) the magnitude of total daily electronic screen time and (ii) the relations between electronic screen use and mental well-being indicators, in a sample of 10–12-year-old children. Methods: We analysed cross-sectional, population-based data of 10–12-year-old children from the 2007 Youth in Iceland school survey (n = 10 829, response rate: 81.7%, boys: 50.5%). Logistic regression models with odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were conducted to assess the odds of each selected mental well-being indicator, depending on the number of daily hours spent on each electronic screen-based activity. All analyses were conducted separately for boys and girls and adjusted for family structure. Results:The prevalence of self-reported screen use of 4 hours per day or more ranges from 2.8% to 6.6% among boys and from 1.0% to 3.8% among girls. All five screen-based activities were significantly associated with all seven well-being indicators (P < 0.001) with symptoms being more common with increased time spent on screen use. Conclusions: This study is the first of its kind to demonstrate a dose-response relationship between electronic screen use and mental well-being in 10–12-year-old children. Further research is needed to assess the validity and potential implications of these findings.
Outcome
-"Excessive use (4 hours or more) is generally more common among boys with the greatest difference found in the question about Internet computer games (5.9% of boys and 1.4% of girls)." (Yang, Helgason, Sigfusdottir & Kristjansson, 2012, p. 493)
- Sleeping problems are the most common with >21% of boys and almost 25% of girls reporting occurrence sometimes or often during the past 7 days.
-"Findings consistently show that the odds of having experienced any of the negative symptoms sometime or often during the past 7 days increase with greater amount of time spent in front of electronic screens among both girls and boys. This relationship is especially evident for those spending ≥4 hours every day on any kind of screen activity." (Yang, Helgason, Sigfusdottir & Kristjansson, 2012, p. 494)
-A clear dose-response relationship between electronic screen use and negative mental well-being was observed.