Abstract
Background: Electronic screen media play an increasingly vital role in children's entertainment; however, excessive screen time may negatively influence child development. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the screen time of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their autistic symptoms and development quotients (DQs).Methods: We compared the screen time of 101 children with ASD and 57 typically developing (TD) children. Then, we performed a correlation analysis to determine the correlations between the screen time and the ASD-related scale scores and developmental quotients of the Gesell Developmental Schedules (GDS) of ASD children. We further divided the ASD group into subgroups according to the screen time and age and then separately conducted the above correlation analyses by subgroup.Result: The results showed that the screen time of the children with ASD was longer than that of the TD children (3.34 ± 2.64 h vs. 0.91 ± 0.93 h). The screen time of the children with ASD was positively correlated with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) score (r = 0.242, P = 0.021) and “taste, smell and touch” item of CARS(r = 0.304, P = 0.005), and negatively correlated with the language DQ of the GDS (r = −0.236, P = 0.047). The subgroup analysis showed that in the longer screen time subgroup of ASD children, the screen time was positively correlated with the CARS score (r = 0.355, P = 0.026) and negatively correlated with the DQs of all domains of the GDS (P < 0.05). In addition, in the younger age group of ASD children, the screen time was positively correlated with the CARS score (r = 0.314, P = 0.021) and negatively correlated with the DQs of all domains of the GDS, except for the personal-social behavior domain (P < 0.05).Conclusion: Compared with TD children, children with ASD have a longer screen time. The screen time is related to autism-like symptoms and the DQs of children with ASD. The longer the screen time, the more severe the symptoms of ASD (especially sensory symptoms), and the more obvious the developmental delay, especially in ASD children with a longer screen time and younger age, particularly in the language domain.
Highlights
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a type of neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and interaction and stereotyped or repetitive patterns of behavior, interests or activities
There were no differences in sex, age or body mass index (BMI) between the ASD group and the typically developing (TD) group (P = 0.617, 0.669, and 0.113, respectively)
We found that the screen time in the ASD group was significantly longer than that in the TD group
Summary
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a type of neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and interaction and stereotyped or repetitive patterns of behavior, interests or activities. The widespread use of electronic screens seems to have played a significant role in early childhood development and, may be considered a social-economic factor. Electronic screen media play an increasingly vital role in the entertainment of typically developing (TD) children and children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. -called screen time mainly consists of time spent watching television or using a computer, tablet computer, or smart mobile phone [2]. Children usually spend their screen time watching cartoons and movies, playing video games, using social media and, occasionally, learning [3]. Electronic screen media play an increasingly vital role in children’s entertainment; excessive screen time may negatively influence child development. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the screen time of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their autistic symptoms and development quotients (DQs)
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