Associations between screen time and cognitive development in preschoolers
Oral Presentation C11.1
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v14i3.710Keywords:
Screen Use, Early Childhood, Executive FunctionAbstract
Background: Excessive screen time may impede cognitive development in early childhood. Purpose: To examine the cross-sectional associations between screen time and expressive language, as well as working memory, in preschoolers. Methods: Participants were 97 preschoolers (36-60 months) in Alberta and Ontario, Canada in the supporting Healthy physical AcTive Childcare setting (HATCH) study. The time that children spent on watching television, videos or DVDs (television time) or playing video or computer games (video game time) on a television, computer, or potable device were assessed using a parental questionnaire. Total screen time and adherence to the screen time recommendation (≤1h/d) of the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines were calculated. Expressive vocabulary and working memory were assessed using the Early Years Toolbox. Due to the distribution, working memory was categorized as a binary variable based on the median score. The associations between screen time and cognitive development were examined using mixed models (expressive vocabulary) or generalized mixed models (working memory). Results: Pre-schoolers who had higher total screen time were less likely to have better working memory (OR=0.53;95%CI:0.31,0.89). Adherence to the screen time recommendation tended to be associated with better working memory (OR=3.35;95%CI:1.05,11.36), compared to non-adherence. Screen time was not associated with expressive vocabulary. Conclusion: Limiting total screen time to no more than one hour per day may facilitate executive function development in preschoolers. Screen time may be unrelated to expressive language development in this age group. Funding: The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
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Copyright (c) 2021 Zhiguang Zhang, Kristi B. Adamo, Nancy Ogden, Gary S. Goldfield, Anthony D. Okely, Nicolas Kuzik, Mitchell Crozier, Stephen Hunter, Madison Predy, Valerie Carson
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