Television viewing through ages 2-5 years and bullying involvement in early elementary school

Marina Verlinden,Wilma Jansen,Vincent Wv Jaddoe,Pauline W Jansen,Albert Hofman,Frank C Verhulst,Hein Raat,René Veenstra,Cathelijne L Mieloo,Henning Tiemeier

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-157

Marina Verlinden, Wilma Jansen + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-157

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Abstract

BackgroundHigh television exposure time at young age has been described as a potential risk factor for developing behavioral problems. However, less is known about the effects of preschool television on subsequent bullying involvement. We examined the association between television viewing time through ages 2-5 and bullying involvement in the first grades of elementary school. We hypothesized that high television exposure increases the risk of bullying involvement.MethodTV viewing time was assessed repeatedly in early childhood using parental report. To combine these repeated assessments we used latent class analysis. Four exposure classes were identified and labeled “low”, “mid-low”, “mid-high” and “high”. Bullying involvement was assessed by teacher questionnaire (n = 3423, mean age 6.8 years). Additionally, peer/self-report of bullying involvement was obtained using a peer nomination procedure (n = 1176, mean age 7.6 years). We examined child risk of being a bully, victim or a bully-victim (compared to being uninvolved in bullying).ResultsHigh television exposure class was associated with elevated risks of bullying and victimization. Also, in both teacher- and child-reported data, children in the high television exposure class were more likely to be a bully-victim (OR = 2.11, 95% CI: 1.42-3.13 and OR = 3.68, 95% CI: 1.75-7.74 respectively). However, all univariate effect estimates attenuated and were no longer statistically significant once adjusted for maternal and child covariates.ConclusionsThe association between television viewing time through ages 2-5 and bullying involvement in early elementary school is confounded by maternal and child socio-demographic characteristics.

Highlights

High television exposure time at young age has been described as a potential risk factor for developing behavioral problems
High television exposure class was associated with elevated risks of bullying and victimization
Apart from child and maternal socio-demographic characteristics, we considered child behavioral and emotional problems as possible confounding factors of the association between television viewing and bullying, as studies show that early television exposure is associated with behavioral problems [28,29], and that children’s internalizing and externalizing problems are associated with bullying involvement [7]

Summary

Introduction

High television exposure time at young age has been described as a potential risk factor for developing behavioral problems. Bullying is conventionally defined as intentional and continuous peer aggression, involving power imbalance between a victim and aggressor [1] It is a common problem in early elementary school. Compared to bullies and victims, the bully-victims stand-out as a group of children with the highest risk of developing multiple psychopathologic behaviors [8], and they are most likely to remain involved in bullying for prolonged periods of time [9]. It should be noted, the association between internalizing/externalizing problems and bullying involvement is most likely reciprocal. Bullying involvement increases the risk of later psychiatric disorders: in a large cohort study it was shown that being victimized at age 8 year predicts psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and antisocial personality, 10 to 15 years later [11]

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