A Latent Profile Analysis of Problematic Media Device Use and Its Association With Executive Function and Behavioral Problem Among Children: A Population-Based Study

Abstract

Objective Despite the rapid increase in problematic media device use, relatively little is known about specific characteristics and extent of problematic media device and how they relate to different psychological features.Methods Data extracted from the Panel Korea Study for the Child Cohort Study were used. At the age of 9 years, media device addiction severity was assessed using the K-scale, and children’s behavioral outcomes were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist. Among children with problematic media device use (n=339), we performed latent profile analysis using the K-scale to identify subtypes of problematic media device use, and then compared the child behavioral problems and executive function according to the different subtypes of problematic media device use.Results Children with problematic media device use were divided into class 1 (n=51), class 2 (n=138), and class 3 (n=150). Compared with classes 2 and 3, class 1 had more severe problematic media device use, including daily activity disturbance, withdrawal, and tolerance. Class 1 had the most serious behavioral problems and executive function difficulties among classes. Class 2 had greater daily activity disturbance and tolerance than those of class 3, but executive function showed no significant difference between the two classes. In logistic regression analysis, behavioral problems except for somatization were more common in class 1 than in the control group.Conclusion Results suggest that problematic media device use is associated with significant behavioral problem and executive function difficulties and underscore the need for further clinical and research attention for these specific subgroup members.

Longitudinal Investigations of Autoregressive Cross-Lagged Path Models Among Internet Use, Executive Function Problems, and Maternal Control in Young Korean Children

“…In addition, at Wave 11, children were assessed using 15 items of a revised Korean version of the diagnostic scale for Internet overdependence (K-scale) developed by the National Information Society Agency ( 47 ). Items on the K-scale describe a child's behavioral problems related to Internet use, and mothers rated each item on how likely their children were to show such behaviors, using a four-point scale from not likely at all ( 1 ) to very likely ( 4 ). On the K-scale, a total score of 30 or above indicates problematic Internet use.…”

“…The second aim was to examine longitudinal directionality between the three research variables. Previous findings indicated that time of Internet use positively predicted difficulty in attention and cognition processes ( 4 , 16 ) and self-control ( 5 , 44 ). Consistent with previous findings, I hypothesized that children's excessive use of the Internet would positively predict executive function problems.…”

“…However, according to a report by the Korean National Information Society Agency in 2020 ( 3 ), approximately one-fifth of children who have a mobile device are at risk for Internet addiction. Compared with children who use the Internet in an appropriate and controllable way for their age, children with excessive Internet use experienced attention problems and poor academic achievement ( 4 ), self-control deficiency ( 5 ), and interpersonal conflicts with parents and peers ( 6 , 7 ). Although it is evident from neurophysiological studies that excessive Internet use undermines the cognitive development of young children ( 8 , 9 ), executive function problems caused by excessive Internet use have received relatively little attention.…”

Problematic Media Use among Children up to the Age of 10: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Concerning screening tools aimed at detecting PMU from a parental perspective, the Problematic Media Use Measure (PMUM) [33] was the most used [58,72,73], followed by the Korean Scale for Internet Addiction (K-Scale) [61,74,75] which was instead found to be the most used screening tool to measure PMU from children's perspective [61,62,70,[75][76][77]. Other employed tools were the Computer Addiction Scale for Children [71,78,79], the Internet Game Use-Elicited Symptom Screen (IGUESS) [80][81][82], the Young Diagnostic Questionnaire for Internet Addiction (YDQ) [10,63,83], and the Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS) [84][85][86].…”

Intelligence-Dependent Differential Effects of Media Exposure on Executive Function Changes in Children: A Population-Based Cohort Study With a Longitudinal Design

“…Most studies reporting executive function impairment in excessive media are cross-sectional. 8 9 10 11 Only one study with a prospective and longitudinal design on the causal relationship between long-term media exposure and executive function has been reported, 12 showing somewhat contradictory results with existing cross-sectional studies. Also, there is no previous study that adjusted intelligence, which is closely related to executive function and plays a protective role in negative mental health outcomes.…”