Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on screen media use in patients referred for ADHD to child and adolescent psychiatry: an introduction to problematic use of the internet in ADHD and results of a survey

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown have been associated with multiple consequences for mental health, including an excessive and potentially harmful increase in screen media use. The specific consequences for children, adolescents and young adults with ADHD are still unknown. In the first part of this study, a short review of problematic use of the internet (PUI) in ADHD is presented, showing that patients with ADHD are at risk for different aspects of PUI, such as excessive gaming or problematic social media use. In the second part, we report original data of an online survey on screen media use before, during and after the lockdown completed by parents of children and adolescents clinically referred for ADHD. Parents rated children’s/adolescents’ media-related behavior and media time on a new screening questionnaire for PUI. Each item was rated three times, referring to the observed behavior before, during and 1–2 months after the lockdown. N = 126 parents of patients referred for ADHD aged 10–18 years participated in the study. Total media time increased by 46% during the lockdown and did not completely return to pre-Corona levels afterwards. Patients with difficulties concentrating, high irritability or deterioration of ADHD problems under lockdown spent more time with screen media than those with milder or no such problems. While the effects of the lockdown on screen media use and its negative impact on everyday life appear to be largely reversible, a small proportion of patients with ADHD apparently continue to show increased media use.

Media use and emotional distress under COVID-19 lockdown in a clinical sample referred for internalizing disorders: A Swiss adolescents' perspective

“…As could be expected, screen media time increased during the lockdown both in healthy adolescents ( Drouin et al, 2020 ; López-Bueno et al, 2020 ; Magson et al, 2021 ) and in those with pre-existing psychiatric or other disorders ( Pietrobelli et al, 2020 ; Werling et al, 2021 ), at least temporarily, and in some adolescents, unfavorable developments arose, e.g. excessive online gaming ( Balhara et al, 2020 ; Magson et al, 2021 ), excessive social media use ( Ammar et al, 2020 ; Burhamah et al, 2020 .).…”

“…Media-related items were based on a modified version of the Screening Questionnaire for Problematic Use of the Internet (PUI-SQ) for children and adolescents referred to child and adolescent psychiatry ( Werling et al, 2021a , 2021b ). The PUI-SQ comprises the following subscales/domains: 1.…”

Parent-Adolescent Discrepancies in Adolescent Recreational Screen Time Reporting During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

“…As has been shown previously, the overall recreational screen time of adolescents substantially increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 It is important that parents attend to their children's media diets, especially since excessive screen use may be associated with adverse mental and physical health risks. 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 This study demonstrates a disconnect across multiple media types and the volume of media consumption.…”

“… 8 , 9 , 10 Screen use among adolescents drastically increased during the COVID-19 pandemic as schools transitioned to remote learning, extracurricular activities were cancelled or became virtual, and adolescents had more time for screens. 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 High levels of screen usage are likely to persist as virtual and hybrid options may remain beyond the pandemic. Thus, for parents and pediatricians, it is now more important than ever to accurately capture screen time patterns among adolescents.…”

Répercussions du confinement sur le psychisme et l’utilisation des médias en pédopsychiatrie

“…Un lien entre temps accordé aux médias et l'aggravation de leur trouble a été observé pour les enfants, mais pas pour les adolescents. En ne considérant pas le groupe entier, mais uniquement les enfants et adolescents avec un TDA-H, on constate pour les deux une corrélation entre temps accordé aux médias et une diminution de la faculté de concentration et une plus forte irritabilité 15) .…”