Prospective associations between child screen time and parenting stress and later inattention symptoms in preschoolers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: Child attention skills are critical for supporting self-regulation abilities, especially during the first years of life. On the other hand, inattention symptoms in preschoolers have been associated with poor school readiness, literacy skills and academic achievement. Previous research has linked excessive screen time with increased inattention symptoms in early childhood. However, most research has only focused on TV exposure and did not investigate this association during the COVID-19 pandemic. This atypical context has increased screen time in children worldwide, including preschoolers. We hypothesize that higher levels of child screen media and parenting stress at age 3.5 will be associated with higher child inattention symptoms at age 4.5. Method: This study draws on participants followed longitudinally over the span of 2-years for an investigation of Canadian preschoolers' screen media use during the pandemic (N = 315, 2020). A follow-up with this sample was completed in 2021 (N = 264). Results: Analyses using multiple linear regression, revealed a positive association between child screen time at age 3.5 and inattention symptoms at 4.5 years. Parental stress was also positively associated with child inattention symptoms. Associations were observed above individual (child age, inhibitory control, and sex) and family (parent education and family income) characteristics. Discussion: These results confirmed our hypothesis and highlight that preschooler screen use and parenting stress may undermine attentional skills. Since attention is a crucial component for children development, behavior and academic outcomes, our study reinforces the importance for parents of adopting healthy media habits.

Preschooler screen time and temperamental anger/frustration during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: In the context of increased media use and family distress during the pandemic, we examine whether preschooler screen time at age 3.5 contributes to later expressions of anger/frustration at 4.5, while also considering the inverse association. METHODS: Data are from a cohort of 315 Canadian preschool-aged children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parent-reported measures included child h/day of screen time and child temperamental anger/frustration, both measured at 3.5 and 4.5 years of age. Indicators of family distress include use of childcare and child sleep, family income, parenting stress, and parent education, marital and employment status. We also consider child sex as a control variable. RESULTS: A crossed-lagged panel model revealed continuity in screen time between the ages of 3.5 and 4.5 (ß = 0.68) and temperamental anger/frustration from 3.5 to 4.5 (ß = 0.60). Child screen time at age 3.5 predicted increased proneness to anger/frustration at age 4.5 (ß = 0.14). Anger/frustration at age 3.5 did not predict screen time at age 4.5. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that preschooler screen time during the pandemic may have undermined the ability to regulate negative emotions, a key component of social and academic competence. Supporting parents in implementing healthy media habits post pandemic may benefit young children's development. IMPACT: Key message: this study observes prospective bidirectional associations between preschoolers screen time and temperamental displays of anger or frustration during the COVID-19 pandemic. What does it add: we provide evidence that preschool screen time at age 3.5 prospectively contributes to the tendency to react in anger/frustration at age 4.5. In contrast, greater proneness to anger/frustration did not predict later exposure to screen time. What is the impact: health practitioners should enquire about media use habits during well-child visits to foster children's healthy development during the preschool years.

Is the Association Between Early Childhood Screen Media Use and Effortful Control Bidirectional? A Prospective Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Individual differences in effortful control, a component of temperament, reflecting the ability to use attention and other cognitive processes to self-regulate emotion and behavior, contribute to child academic adjustment, social competence, and wellbeing. Research has linked excessive screen time in early childhood to reduced self-regulation ability. Furthermore, research suggests that parents are more likely to use screens with children who have more challenging temperaments, such as low levels of effortful control. Since screen time by children between the ages of 0 and 18 has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, it remains timely to investigate the developmental pattern of association between child screen media use and effortful control. We hypothesize that higher levels of screen media intake at age 3.5 will be associated with lower effortful control at age 4.5 and that lower effortful control at 3.5 will contribute to more screen media intake at age 4.5. This study draws on participants followed longitudinally over the span of 2-years for an investigation of Canadian preschoolers' screen media use during the pandemic (N = 316, Wave 1). A follow-up with this sample was completed in 2021 (N = 265, Wave 2). Analyses using a cross-lagged panel model revealed stability in child screen time and effortful control between the ages of 3.5 and 4.5. Child screen time at age 3.5 significantly contributed to decreased effortful control scores at the age of 4.5, whereas effortful control at age 3.5 did not contribute to screen time at age 4.5. Our results partially confirmed our hypothesis and indicated that higher levels of screen time intake were detrimental to the development of effortful control. These results suggest that screen media use, an exceedingly frequent activity, may play an enduring role in development by shaping young children's temperaments.