Measurement of screen time among young children aged 0–6 years: A systematic review

Abstract

The impact of screen-based devices on children's health and development cannot be properly understood without valid and reliable tools that measure screen time within the evolving digital landscape. This review aimed to summarize characteristics of measurement tools used to assess screen time in young children; evaluate reporting of psychometric properties; and examine time trends related to measurement and reporting of screen time. A systematic review of articles published in English across three databases from January 2009 to April 2020 was undertaken using PROSPERO protocol (registration: CRD42019132599) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Included articles measured screen time as outcome, exposure, or confounder in children 0-6 years. The search identified 35,868 records, 1035 full-text articles were screened for eligibility, and 622 met inclusion criteria. Most measures (60%) consisted of one to three items and assessed duration of screen time on a usual day. Few measures assessed content (11%) or coviewing (7%). Only 40% of articles provided a citation for the measure, and only 69 (11%) reported psychometric properties-reliability n = 58, validity n = 19, reliability and validity n = 8. Between 2009 and 2019, the number of published articles increased from 28 to 71. From 2015, there was a notable increase in the proportion of articles published each year that assessed exposure to mobile devices in addition to television. The increasing number of published articles reflects increasing interest in screen time exposure among young children. Measures of screen time have generally evolved to reflect children's contemporary digital landscape; however, the psychometric properties of measurement tools are rarely reported. There is a need for improved measures and reporting to capture the complexity of children's screen time exposures.

Identifying effective intervention strategies to reduce children’s screen time: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Almost all interventions (97%) measured screen time via self- or parent-report. These findings are consistent with a recent review that reported that no articles used an objective, device-based tool to measure screen time in children 6 years old or younger [ 244 ]. Interventions that objectively measured screen time were associated with larger, albeit non-significant effects, compared to interventions that measured screen time via self- or parent-report.…”

The Differential Impact of Screen Time on Children’s Wellbeing

“…Findings of this study show that Irish children spend an average of 155 min in front of a screen daily for leisure activities. This compares with 91-120 min reported by Healy et al [57] for typically developing Irish children. O'Brien et al [14] reported a much higher average screen time of (2.65 h) in eight-year-old Irish children; however, notably this study focussed on children from areas of social disadvantage, with children from lower socioeconomic background known to be of higher risk of negative health impli-cations associated with increased screen time [2].…”

Digital Devices and Cognitive Functions in Children

“…К сожалению, в большинстве этих исследований изучали влияние на детей раннего возраста исключительно телевидения. Лишь с 2015 г. наблюдается заметное увеличение доли статей, в которых описаны результаты исследований воздействия мобильных устройств [3].…”