Abstract
Previous studies that examined the links between media use and children’s attention abilities have yielded inconclusive findings. In the current study, we aimed to move beyond the focus on isolated aspects of media use to a comprehensive assessment of both direct and indirect media use and practices in early childhood. Drawing from the cumulative risk literature, we examined whether cumulative media use is related to children’s subsequent attention abilities. Participants were 199 mothers of toddlers (60% male) who completed questionnaires assessing various aspects of children’s media use, as well as children’s focused attention abilities at three time points: 18 months (T1), 22 months (T2), and 26 months (T3) of age. Cumulative media use scores were computed based on four indicators: (1) child average daily screen time; (2) household background television; (3) maternal use of media to regulate child distress; and (4) maternal use of mobile devices while spending time with the child. An autoregressive cross-lagged (ARCL) path model controlling for child sex, maternal education, and general parenting practices showed that cumulative media use at 18 months negatively predicted children’s focused attention at 22 months. Moreover, there was a significant negative indirect effect from cumulative media use at 18 months to focused attention at 26 months via focused attention at 22 months. Finally, the cumulative media index appeared to be a better predictor of focused attention than any of the singular media use indicators. Children’s focused attention did not predict subsequent cumulative media use across time, providing no evidence for bidirectional links. Findings suggest that exposure to multiple (rather than single) aspects of media use is related to decreased subsequent focused attention abilities during toddlerhood. Family media plans that designate media-free time and increase parental awareness to media use habits in the household should therefore be encouraged.
Highlights
Reviewed by: Mary Courage, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada Matthew A
Drawing from the cumulative risk literature suggesting that multiple risk factor exposure exceeds the adverse developmental impacts of singular exposures (Evans et al, 2013), we examined whether cumulative media use is related to children’s emerging focused attention abilities
We focused on four indicators of media use and exposure that were selected based on recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) for media use in early childhood (Council on Communications, and Media, 2016) and previous research linking these indicators to attention abilities directly or indirectly (Kirkorian et al, 2009; Radesky et al, 2016; Kildare and Middlemiss, 2017; Kostyrka-Allchorne et al, 2017), including daily screen time, household background television, use of media to regulate child distress, and parental use of mobile devices while spending time with the child
Summary
Reviewed by: Mary Courage, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada Matthew A. Media ecology refers to the way media are used by all members of the household, including children’s direct and indirect exposure, and how media are used in children’s daily routines such as play, discipline, meals, and bedtime (Barr, 2019) Guided by this contextual framework, in the current study we applied a comprehensive assessment of media use and practices in early childhood. We chose focused attention as our main outcome because it is considered the foundation for the development of EF abilities in later childhood (Garon et al, 2008) and is predictive of later attention problems (Miller et al, 2018)
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