Abstract
BackgroundScreen time activities (e.g., television, computers, video games) have been linked to several negative health outcomes among young people. In order to develop evidence-based interventions to reduce screen time, the factors that influence the behavior need to be better understood. High neighborhood disorder, which may encourage young people to stay indoors where screen time activities are readily available, is one potential factor to consider.MethodsResults are based on 15,917 youth in grades 6-10 (aged 10-16 years old) who participated in the Canadian 2009/10 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey (HBSC). Total hours per week of television, video games, and computer use were reported by the participating students in the HBSC student questionnaire. Ten items of neighborhood disorder including safety, neighbors taking advantage, drugs/drinking in public, ethnic tensions, gangs, crime, conditions of buildings/grounds, abandoned buildings, litter, and graffiti were measured using the HBSC student questionnaire, the HBSC administrator questionnaire, and Geographic Information Systems. Based upon these 10 items, social and physical neighborhood disorder variables were derived using principal component analysis. Multivariate multilevel logistic regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between social and physical neighborhood disorder and individual screen time variables.ResultsHigh (top quartile) social neighborhood disorder was associated with approximately 35-45% increased risk of high (top quartile) television, computer, and video game use. Physical neighborhood disorder was not associated with screen time activities after adjusting for social neighborhood disorder. However, high social and physical neighborhood disorder combined was associated with approximately 40-60% increased likelihood of high television, computer, and video game use.ConclusionHigh neighborhood disorder is one environmental factor that may be important to consider for future public health interventions and strategies aiming to reduce screen time among youth.
Highlights
IntroductionScreen time activities (e.g., television, computers, video games) have been linked to several negative health outcomes among young people
Screen time activities have been linked to several negative health outcomes among young people
The 2009/10 Canadian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey (HBSC) is comprised of three main components: 1) a questionnaire completed by classes of students that asks about their health behaviors, lifestyle factors, and demographics, 2) a questionnaire completed by an administrator of the students’ school that asks about school policies and features of the school and its surrounding neighborhood [29], and 3) geographic information systems (GIS) measures of features in the school neighborhoods
Summary
Screen time activities (e.g., television, computers, video games) have been linked to several negative health outcomes among young people. Two recent narrative literature reviews identified several demographic (e.g., sex, ethnicity, parents’ education/income) and social (e.g., parents’ viewing habits, number of parents in the home) factors that may influence screen time [15] and television use [16] among children and youth. Both reviews reported that there is insufficient evidence to draw conclusions on many of the other potential correlates, especially for non-television types of screen time [15,16]. Of particular note was the lack of previous research examining the relationship between the neighborhood environment and screen time behaviors
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