RESUMO
ABSTRACT Purpose The overuse of screen-based devices results in developmental problems in children. Parents are an integral part of the children's language development. The present study explores the parental perspectives on the impact of screen time on the language skills of typically developing school-going children using a developed questionnaire. Methods 192 parents of typically developing children between 6 and 10 years of age participated in the study. Phase 1 of the study included the development of a questionnaire targeting the impact of screen devices on language development. The questionnaire was converted into an online survey and was circulated among the parents in Phase 2. Descriptive statistics were performed on the retrieved data and a chi-square test was done to determine the association between the use of screen devices across all language parameters. Results Parents reported television and smartphones to be the most used type of device, with a large proportion of children using screen-based devices for 1-2 hours per day. Most parents reported children prefer watching screens mainly for entertainment purposes, occasionally under supervision, without depending on them as potential rewards. The impact of screen-based devices on language skills has been discussed under the semantics, syntax, and pragmatic aspects of language. Conclusion The findings of this study will help identify the existing trends in the usage of screen-based devices by children, thereby identifying potential contributing factors towards language delays. This information will also benefit in parental counselling during the interventional planning of children with language delays.
RESUMO
Very few studies have reported an independent association of the physical activity-related indices with the psychological stress reaction. The present study therefore investigated the association of fitness and screentime as one of the indices of sedentary behavior with the four types of psychological stress reactions and the number of days absent from school for 249 children at a local public school and a metropolitan private school while considering confounding factors. No significant difference was observed in the fitness level of both schools; however, the rate of obesity, the screentime and the level of all psychological stress reactions were significantly worse in the public school. Further, significant differences and trends among the groups classified by fitness level were recognized in the rates of participation in after school activities, feeling of powerlessness and days of absence per year. In addition, the odds ratio of the screentime for depressive and anxiety symptoms was 1.004 (95%CI: 1.000-1.007, p=0.039), while the odds of the fitness level for high feeling of powerlessness and more than five days of absence were 1.582 (95%CI: 1.045-2.396, p=0.030) and 1.434 (95%CI: 1.045-2.396, p=0.015), respectively, after adjusting for the school type, differences in lifestyle and participation in after school activities. In conclusion, the fitness level and the screentime were associated with high psychological stress reactions and the days of absence, independent of the above-mentioned adjusting factors among the children in the present study. Prospective and interventional studies to verify these results are needed.