School-Based Prevention of Screen-Related Risk Behaviors during the Long-Term Distant Schooling Caused by COVID-19 Outbreak

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak and related restrictions meant a higher incidence of screen-related risk behaviors in both children and adolescents. Our goal was to assess the perceived importance and extent of school-based preventions related to these risks during the long-term, nation-wide distant schooling period in the Czech Republic. The online survey was responded to by the school-based prevention specialists (N = 1698). For the analysis, within-subject analysis of variance (ANOVA) and binominal logistic regression were used. At-risk internet use and cyber-bullying were perceived as pressing, but other risks, for example, excessive internet use or the use of cyberpornography, received substantially less priority. The differences in all grades were significant and moderate to large (η2G between 0.156 and 0.288). The proportion of schools which conducted prevention interventions of screen-related risks was low (between 0.7% and 27.8%, depending on the grade and the type of the risk). The probability of delivering prevention intervention was in all grades significantly predicted by the presence of screen-related problems in pupils (OR 3.76–4.88) and the perceived importance of the screen-related risks (OR 1.55–1.97). The limited capacity of schools to deliver prevention interventions during distant schooling as well as the low awareness and impaired ability to recognize the importance of some screen-related risks should be addressed.

O impacto do cyberbullying na saúde mental de crianças e adolescentes durante a pandemia de COVID-19

“…Esse impacto está intimamente relacionado também com o ambiente escolar, pois distante do olhar cuidadoso de professores (as), bem como de outros profissionais adultos, capazes de detectar a realização de bullying, a conveniência do cyberbullying se torna ainda maior. Por trás da possibilidade da identidade anônima, muitos se aproveitam para infringir violência ao colega de turma que se encontra menos protegido do que habitualmente, dificultando não só os estudos durante o momento complicado da pandemia, como também o futuro retorno à educação presencial (Lukavská et al, 2021).…”

“…Nesse aspecto, o cyberbullying figura entre os principais problemas que requerem um programa escolar de prevenção, comparado a outros tipos de prejuízos relacionados ao mau uso da internet. As consequências relacionadas ao impacto psicológico dessa atividade costumam ser de curto prazo, aparecendo de semanas a meses, sendo mais passíveis de serem detectadas no ambiente escolar e, portanto, deve ser priorizada a elaboração de programa de prevenção nesse âmbito (Lukavská et al, 2021).…”

Measuring Parental Behavior towards Children’s Use of Media and Screen-Devices: The Development and Psychometrical Properties of a Media Parenting Scale for Parents of School-Aged Children

“…The family-based prevention of children's problematic screen/media use is crucial because it is difficult to regulate daily screen use at the level of schools and other institutions [7]. While effective school-based prevention interventions addressing substance use are available [34][35][36], evidence-based interventions addressing screen/media use are lacking [37], and the ability of schools to address these risks is limited [38]. The first step to improve family-based prevention is to identify effective media parenting practices; this is only possible with appropriate instruments assessing these practices.…”

Can Online Education Programs Solve the Cyberbullying Problem? Educating South Korean Elementary Students in the COVID-19 Era

“…The words and concepts of cyber violence, cyberbullying, and cyber outcast were unknown a few decades ago [12,21], but are now important social issues that warrant careful study and development of effective means of coping with this endemic form of noncontact violence. Research on cyberbullying prevention education and response strategy has been woefully insufficient [22][23][24].…”