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Introduction: Screen media serves an essential role in adolescents' lives, posing growth opportunities and mental health challenges. Family plays a crucial role in mitigating these challenges. This systematic review offers a comprehensive analysis of the family factors related to adolescent screen media use and mental health. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Embase, adhering to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses guidelines using the following inclusion criteria: English, peer‐reviewed, observational design, and published since 2013; adolescent samples aged 10–17 years; and examining screen media use, family factors, and internalizing problems. The role of family factors as predictors, moderators, and mediators was also examined. Results: Of the 3587 records, 32 met the inclusion criteria. These studies, primarily cross‐sectional, presented a global perspective of 14 countries. A heterogeneous range of family factors, screen media use, and mental health outcomes were examined, revealing significant associations between elevated screen media use and internalizing problems. Positive family processes and democratic media‐specific parenting mitigate such association. A few studies underscored family socioeconomic status (SES), noting elevated screen media use and mental health risks among adolescents in families of low SES. Conclusions: Accumulating evidence supports the important role of positive family contexts in fostering balanced screen media use and mental health in adolescents, accentuating the need for professional screening and education to promote positive screen media use among adolescents and families. Further research requires refinement in measurement and methodology to better capture the intricate relationship between family dynamics, screen media use, and adolescent mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This brief report assesses parent–adolescent relationships, screen behaviors, and tridimensional acculturation as risk and promotive or protective factors for health among Black U.S. immigrant or refugee adolescents during the dual COVID-19 and racism or Whiteness pandemics. Eighty-nine immigrant- or refugee-origin adolescents completed online surveys (72% Somali American, 28% Jamaican American; 45% female; 15% foreign-born; M = 14.11 years). Regression analyses revealed that parental autonomy support, parental restrictive media mediation, and adolescent heritage culture identification were promotive of better screen media use behaviors. Only adolescent media literacy self-efficacy was related to higher screen time. Importantly, screen self-regulation was a better predictor of general health than screen time. Results highlight many parenting strengths in Black immigrant or refugee families and underscore the resilience-promoting power of parent–adolescent relationships. Health implications are discussed to provide guidance for future prevention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Screen use, including TV viewing, among children is associated with their physical and mental development. The most common assessment of TV viewing are self-reports and these introduce significant error. Objective measures are needed to improve research approaches to inform screen use guidelines. We present an objective approach to assess TV viewing as participant's gaze on the screen. Family Level Assessment of Screen use in the Home (FLASH-TV) uses state-of-the-art computer vision methods for face detection, recognition, and gaze estimation to process images and estimate the amount of time a child in the family spends watching TV. We recruited 21 triads of participants for the development of the FLASH-TV system who took part in 1.5 h observation studies with 5 in participants' homes. We evaluated each step of FLASH-TV by comparing to human-labeled ground truth data. Face detection and recognition methods achieved more than 90% sensitivity in detecting the target child under the challenging conditions of low lighting and poor resolution on a subset of test frames. Our final step of gaze estimation achieved more than 70% sensitivity and 85% specificity when evaluated on all of 3 million gaze/no-gaze labeled frames from 21 triads. Finally, our combined three-step system achieved 4.68 min mean absolute error of the TV watching time with a mean ground-truth TV watching time of 21.72 min. This method offers an objective approach to measure a child's TV viewing, with validation studies underway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sharp rise over the past decade in young children's access to various forms of screen media (e.g., smartphones, tablets, TVs) has posed new and significant challenges to caregivers in managing children's use of this type of media. For caregivers of young children with externalizing behavior problems, managing children's time with screen media is especially important and challenging. In this article, we summarize evidence of bidirectional links between early externalizing behavior problems and unhealthy screen media use in young children and discuss the extent to which prior interventions have responded to the needs of caregivers of children with these problems. We propose a conceptual model for an intervention to promote healthy screen media use for children with externalizing behavior problems that leverages current behavioral parenting interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Little is known about the influence of parents' screen media habits and attitudes towards screen media on children's screen use. We investigated associations of parental screen use, their smartphone addiction and screen media attitudes, with children's recreational screen use. Methods: This study was based on a population-based cross-sectional survey sent between May 2019 and November 2020 to a random sample of 6820 Danish parent–child dyads who answered questions regarding their screen media habits. Children were 6–11 years of age and had to reside with the parent. Multivariable adjusted regression analyses were conducted (in October 2021) separately for screen media use on weekdays and weekend days. Results: The analyses included 5437 parents (41.0 years, 67.6% girls) and 5437 children (8.9 years, 48.2% girls). The adjusted relative odds of excessive amounts of screen use of children (>3 hours/weekday and >4 hours/weekend day) was 5.8 (95% confidence interval (CI) 4.6; 7.3) on weekdays and 7.2 (95% CI 5.9; 8.8) on weekend days comparing the fourth and first quartile of parental screen use. Children of parents in the fourth quartile of parental screen use had 2.1 (95% CI 1.7; 2.5) and 2.5 (95% CI 2.2; 3.0) greater odds of screen use before bedtime on all week and weekend days, respectively. Children of parents who had a positive attitude towards their child's screen use or were at high risk of smartphone addiction had significantly higher screen use and more frequent problematic screen use. Conclusions: Parent's screen media habits and attitudes were strongly associated with their children's recreational screen use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim was to examine the relationship between caregiver's mental health (parental psychological distress, and parenting stress), dysfunctional parenting (lax or overreactive parenting), and the screen media use in understanding attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms of children within an integrated model framework. Background: Familial factors and screen use have shown to be significantly related to ADHD in children. However, theoretical models of the role of family environment, screen use, and ADHD have rarely been tested jointly, and little is known about these associations in southeastern European middle‐income countries (MICs). Method: Data from 835 primary caregivers (92% biological mother, 4% biological father, 3% grandmother or grandfather, 1% other) of children (2 to 9 years) from three MICs were analyzed using path analyses, and models were tested for generalizability across education levels and marital status using multigroup analyses. ADHD‐related symptoms were assessed with a structured clinical interview (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents–Parent Version [MINI‐KID‐P]) and the Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL). Results: Whereas screen use was directly associated with ADHD symptoms across measures, a significant indirect effect of lax parenting on attentional problems via screen use was found only for the CBCL parent report. The final models were tested using multigroup analyses across education levels and marital status with no significant differences. Conclusion: Investments in resource and capacity building for children's primary caregivers that target lax parenting and limiting of screen use may impact children's attentional problems across educational levels and married and nonmarried caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research suggests that internet use can increase the risks of internalizing symptoms in adolescents. However, bidirectional relationships between adolescent internet use and anxiety symptoms have received very little attention. Furthermore, few studies have examined these links according to sex. The present study attempts to fill this gap by investigating longitudinal associations between Canadian boys’ and girls’ internet use and symptoms of generalized anxiety and social anxiety using data from the Quebec longitudinal Study of Child Development. A sample of 1324 adolescents (698 girls, 626 boys) self-reported the number of hours per week they spent on the internet and their symptoms of generalized and social anxiety at ages 15 and 17. We estimated two cross-lagged panel models with social or generalized anxiety symptoms and internet use at age 15 predicting those same variables at age 17. Sex was used as a grouping variable and socioeconomic status was included as a control variable. Internet use at 15 predicted generalized and social anxiety symptoms at age 17 in girls, but not boys. Social and generalized anxiety symptoms at age 15 did not predict internet use at age 17 for both boys and girls. These results suggest that internet use can be a significant risk factor for the development of anxiety symptoms in adolescent girls. Girls may be more vulnerable to the negative effects of internet use due to increased sensitivity to social comparisons. Thus, helping girls develop healthier internet use habits should be a target for promoting their mental health.

The association between excessive screen media use and mental health problems has attracted widespread attention. The literature to date has neglected the biological mechanisms underlying such a relationship and failed to distinguish between different types of screen media activities. A sample from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study was used in the present study to elucidate the longitudinal associations between specific types of screen media use, brain development, and diverse mental health problems. The results showed that different types of screen media use have differentiated associations with mental health problems, subcortical volume, and cortical–subcortical connectivity. Specifically, more passive media use was associated with increased rule-breaking behavior, while more video game playing was associated with increased withdrawn/depressed symptoms. In addition, more social media use was associated with a reduced volume of the hippocampus, caudate, and thalamus proper. More research is needed to examine the differential effects of screen media use on neurodevelopmental processes and mental health problems across adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the differences in preschooler self-regulation of media use depending on screen media use environments (physical, situational, and parental factors). Methods: A total of 989 parents of 4-6-years-olds were surveyed to identify the differences in media use self-regulation depending on the environmental factors. An analysis of covariance was performed, controlling for the sex and age of preschoolers. Results: The self-regulation of media usage scores ordered by type was: TV, Tablet PC/Personal Computer/Laptop, and Smartphone. The self-regulation of media use scores by platform was: OTT, IPTV, terrestrial TV, cable TV, and YouTube. Regarding whether or not preschooler have channel selection, it was found that the group with channel seledtion for preschooler had lower self-regulation score than the group without it. The group viewing screen media with their mothers exhibited the highest screen media use self-regulation score. In contrast, the group viewing with grandparents showed the lowest screen media use self-regulation score. Concerning parental factors, self-regulation scores were lower in the infant-centered low-motivation group than in the high-motivation group. For parent-centered motivation, the opposite result was found. Fathers’ media usage time-high group had lower selfregulation scores than the low group. Conclusion: The appropriate preparation of the screen media use environment is an essential factor in improving the self-regulation of preschooler screen media use. Specifically, it is necessary to create an appropriately controlled media use environment to improve preschooler self-regulation of media use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between excessive screen media use and mental health problems has attracted widespread attention. The literature to date has neglected the biological mechanisms underlying such a relationship and failed to distinguish between different types of screen media activities. A sample from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study was used in the present study to elucidate the longitudinal associations between specific types of screen media use, brain development, and diverse mental health problems. The results showed that different types of screen media use have differentiated associations with mental health problems, subcortical volume, and cortical–subcortical connectivity. Specifically, more passive media use was associated with increased rule-breaking behavior, while more video game playing was associated with increased withdrawn/depressed symptoms. In addition, more social media use was associated with a reduced volume of the hippocampus, caudate, and thalamus proper. More research is needed to examine the differential effects of screen media use on neurodevelopmental processes and mental health problems across adolescence.

Background: Currently due to the easy accessibility of virtual gadgets connected through the internet, there is a constant negative impact from on-screen media exposure, which is seen increasing among toddlers. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the impact of screen exposure on toddlers. Materials and Methods: A convenient sample of 80 toddlers aged between 9 and 36 months were enrolled for the study, conducted for 3 months after obtaining written informed assent from parent/primary caregiver. Prior I. E. C. clearance is obtained for the study. A sample of 80 toddlers who were exposed to screen and attended to constantly by a parent/primary caregiver were included in the study. All were assessed by a pretested questionnaire regarding screen media use and Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers Revised. Results: About 52.5% toddlers were male and 47.5% were female. Around 36.5% toddlers screen-viewed for only about 1–2 h/day. 53% of the toddlers with more than 4 h of screen time per day were at high risk for developing Autism. Thus, a statistically significant correlation (P = 0.001) was established between the duration of screen use and the score of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers-Revised scale, with increased screen time showing greater autistic-traits. Conclusion: Toddlers with high screen media use developed autistic-like traits that may even progress to Autism. Hence, it is advisable to educate the parents/primary caregiver regarding the hazardous effects of early exposure to screen use.

Background: Currently due to the easy accessibility of virtual gadgets connected through the internet, there is a constant negative impact from on-screen media exposure, which is seen increasing among toddlers. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the impact of screen exposure on toddlers. Materials and Methods: A convenient sample of 80 toddlers aged between 9 and 36 months were enrolled for the study, conducted for 3 months after obtaining written informed assent from parent/primary caregiver. Prior I. E. C. clearance is obtained for the study. A sample of 80 toddlers who were exposed to screen and attended to constantly by a parent/primary caregiver were included in the study. All were assessed by a pretested questionnaire regarding screen media use and Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers Revised. Results: About 52.5% toddlers were male and 47.5% were female. Around 36.5% toddlers screen-viewed for only about 1–2 h/day. 53% of the toddlers with more than 4 h of screen time per day were at high risk for developing Autism. Thus, a statistically significant correlation (P = 0.001) was established between the duration of screen use and the score of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers-Revised scale, with increased screen time showing greater autistic-traits. Conclusion: Toddlers with high screen media use developed autistic-like traits that may even progress to Autism. Hence, it is advisable to educate the parents/primary caregiver regarding the hazardous effects of early exposure to screen use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: To investigate the consequences of COVID-19 lockdown on screen media use in children and adolescents with mental health problems, an online survey was conducted on leisure media use before, during and after the lockdown of spring 2020. Method: Parents of patients (10-18 yrs) referred to child and adolescent psychiatry participated in an anonymous online survey, approximately six weeks after the first easing of lockdown measures. Parents rated the amount, the content and the psychological impact of their children's media use before, during and after the lockdown. Results: N = 477 parents completed the survey. Patients showed a significant increase in media time during the lockdown (including devices such as mobile, tablet/PC, video game console, TV, and activities such as gaming, social media) and a moderate increase in the negative impact of media use on everyday life. After the lockdown, total media time returned to pre-COVID-19 levels in most patients, but remained slightly higher in males. A worsening of the main psychopathological problem during lockdown was related to elevated media time in children (10-13 yrs), but not in adolescents (14-18 yrs). Conclusion: According to parents' retrospective ratings, the increase in screen media time was reversible, and seems to reflect an expected coping strategy during lockdown. However, male patients did not completely return to pre-COVID-19 gaming time, and a small number continued to display excessive gaming.

In the "digital age", children have widespread access to electronic devices, potentially impacting inhibitory control (IC) development. We examined this association at both the behavioral and neural levels with two experiments. In Experiment 1, we assessed 188 participants (91 girls), averaging 37.74 months old, using maternal self-report questionnaire for screen time and Day-Night Task for IC measurement. In experiment 2, we evaluated 42 participants (24 girls), averaging 41.24 months old, using maternal self-report questionnaires for screen time, a modified version Flanker task for IC, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure neural activity during IC task. Results from Experiment 1 indicated a negative correlation between young children's screen media use time and IC, with high users performing worse IC performance than low users. Experiment 2 confirmed these findings and revealed marginally reduced activation in the left PFC among high users compared to low users, with a moderate effect size and weak supporting evidence. These preliminary results underscore a detrimental association between screen media use and IC, emphasizing the significance of restricting screen exposure in young children to prevent overexposure. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to validate these results and draw causal conclusions. • Child screen media use time was negatively associated with inhibitory control. • High screen media user group (≥1 h/day) performance worse during inhibitory control task than low user group (<1 h/day). • High screen media user group had marginally lower activation in the PFC than the low user group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Excess screen media use is a robust predictor of childhood obesity. Understanding how household factors may affect children’s screen use is needed to tailor effective intervention efforts. The preschool years are a critical time for obesity prevention, and while it is likely that greater household disorder influences preschool-aged children’s screen use, data on that relationship are absent. In this study, our goal was to quantify the relationships between household chaos and screen use in preschool-aged children. Methods A cross-sectional, online survey was administered to 385 parents of 2–5 year-olds recruited in 2017. Household chaos was measured with the Confusion, Hubbub and Order Scale (i.e., the chaos scale), a validated, parent-reported scale. The scale consists of 15 items, each scored on a 4-point Likert scale. Final scores were the sum across the 15 items and modeled as quartiles for analyses. Parents reported their children’s screen use for nine electronic media activities. Adjusted linear and Poisson regression were used to model associations between household chaos and children’s total weekly screen use, screen use within one hour of bedtime and screen use in the bedroom. Results Children averaged 31.0 (SD = 23.8) hours per week with screens, 49.6% used screens within one hour of bedtime and 41.0% used screens in their bedrooms. In adjusted regression models, greater household chaos was positively associated with weekly screen use (P = 0.03) and use of screens within one hour of bedtime (P

Excessive screen media use exposure is a robust childhood predictor of sedentary behavior. The association between excessive exposure to sedentary behaviors (e.g., screen media use) and motor skills and how this association differs across sociodemographic strata is an important knowledge gap that needs to be addressed. The study aims to investigate the association of motor skills and screen media use in preschool children, taking into account sociodemographic variables, physical activity, and sleep profile. A cross-sectional survey of 926 children from 27 preschools was performed. The main outcome was defined as motor skills assessed using the general motor quotient (GMQ). Independent variables included sociodemographic variables, screen media use, screen habits, physical activity, and sleep duration. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the associations between the children's motor skills and each exposure factor. More than 55 percent of the children ate while watching television and 28 percent spent a long time watching television, playing video games, or using a computer, tablet, or cell phone. Excessive screen media use increased the risk of a low GMQ by 72 percent and inactivity in children increased the odds by 90 percent; sleep duration at night decreased the odds of a low GMQ by 51 percent and daytime sleep decreased the odds by 33 percent. Excessive screen media use has been associated with poor motor skills and increased physical inactivity in children, especially among those with prolonged exposure. Our findings can alert parents to the consequences of excessive screen media use and can motivate policymakers to encourage sports and other health-promotion strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent increase in children's screen activities has raised concerns that screen time may replace face‐to‐face interaction, and hence impair children's development of emotion understanding. This longitudinal community study of 960 Norwegian 4‐year‐olds, followed up at ages 6 and 8, examined bidirectional relations between screen use and emotion understanding. Results revealed that more screen time at age 4 predicted lower levels of emotion understanding at age 6. In addition, television in children's bedroom at age 6 forecasted lower levels of emotion understanding at age 8. The effect of TV watching on emotion understanding was gender moderated, with stronger effects of TV watching observed among girls, but no significant effects detected among boys. In contrast, gaming forecasted lower level of emotion understanding in boys, not girls. Results are discussed in the light of the importance of face‐to‐face interaction to preserve the development of social‐emotional competence among young children. Statement of contributionWhat is already known on this subject?We know that children's screen activities correlate with poorer social competence and with decrease of the quantity and quality of interaction with parents and siblings.The capacity to understand emotions in others is primarily learned through interaction with primary caregivers, but little is known how children's screen use influences development of emotion understanding.What the present study adds?We found that more TV watching among girls at age 4 predicted lower levels of emotion understanding at age 6.Furthermore, TV in child's bedroom at age 6 forecasted lower levels of emotion understanding at age 8. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescents are constantly connected with each other and the digital landscape through a myriad of screen media devices. Unprecedented access to the wider world and hence a variety of activities, particularly since the introduction of mobile technology, has given rise to questions regarding the impact of this changing media environment on the mental health of young people. Depressive symptoms are one of the most common disabling health issues in adolescence and although research has examined associations between screen use and symptoms of depression, longitudinal investigations are rare and fewer still consider trajectories of change in symptoms. Given the plethora of devices and normalisation of their use, understanding potential longitudinal associations with mental health is crucial. A sample of 1,749 (47% female) adolescents (10-17 years) participated in six waves of data collection over two years. Symptoms of depression, time spent on screens, and on separate screen activities (social networking, gaming, web browsing, TV/passive) were self-reported. Latent growth curve modelling revealed three trajectories of depressive symptoms (low-stable, high-decreasing, and low-increasing) and there were important differences across these groups on screen use. Some small, positive associations were evident between depressive symptoms and later screen use, and between screen use and later depressive symptoms. However, a Random Intercept Cross Lagged Panel Model revealed no consistent support for a longitudinal association. The study highlights the importance of considering differential trajectories of depressive symptoms and specific forms of screen activity to understand these relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research suggests that internet use can increase the risks of internalizing symptoms in adolescents. However, bidirectional relationships between adolescent internet use and anxiety symptoms have received very little attention. Furthermore, few studies have examined these links according to sex. The present study attempts to fill this gap by investigating longitudinal associations between Canadian boys' and girls' internet use and symptoms of generalized anxiety and social anxiety using data from the Quebec longitudinal Study of Child Development. A sample of 1324 adolescents (698 girls, 626 boys) self-reported the number of hours per week they spent on the internet and their symptoms of generalized and social anxiety at ages 15 and 17. We estimated two cross-lagged panel models with social or generalized anxiety symptoms and internet use at age 15 predicting those same variables at age 17. Sex was used as a grouping variable and socioeconomic status was included as a control variable. Internet use at 15 predicted generalized and social anxiety symptoms at age 17 in girls, but not boys. Social and generalized anxiety symptoms at age 15 did not predict internet use at age 17 for both boys and girls. These results suggest that internet use can be a significant risk factor for the development of anxiety symptoms in adolescent girls. Girls may be more vulnerable to the negative effects of internet use due to increased sensitivity to social comparisons. Thus, helping girls develop healthier internet use habits should be a target for promoting their mental health., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

Understanding how parent beliefs about screen media relate to children's screen media use is important for informing interventions to support healthy media use. However, studies have seldom explored relations of parent beliefs with aspects of screen media use beyond overall screentime and have not considered moderating factors. This study examined relations between parent screen media beliefs and multiple aspects of the screen media environment and investigated how those relations may vary according to parent income, stress, and digital skills, in a sample of 822 parents of young children (aged 4–8) in the United States. Positive parent beliefs about screen media predicted more reported co-use and viewing of educational content. Additionally, parent stress and, to a lesser extent, digital skills, moderated relations between beliefs and limit setting, use of screen media for child behavioral regulation, and child screentime. Implications for approaches to screen media intervention are discussed. • Most parents believed screen media had a positive impact on young children's learning, thinking, creativity, and attention. • More positive screen media beliefs relate to more reported co-use and educational content viewing. • Relations between parent screen media beliefs and practices vary according to levels of parent stress and digital skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined preteens' screen media use and potential differences in media use by child and family demographics among 1464 Dutch preteens. The results demonstrated that watching TV is still a very popular activity among children. However, other electronic media are also popular within this age group as 72 % of preteens had a cellphone. Children who spoke a language other than Dutch and whose parents were born abroad were heavier media users. Children with more books in the home and who read more frequently tended to be lighter media users. Boys spent more time on screen media than girls and were more likely to play videogames while girls preferred using social media. This study demonstrated that child and home characteristics play a significant role in children's engagement with screen media and literacy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Screen use is part of daily life worldwide and morbidity related to excess use of screens has been reported. Some use of screens in excess could indicate a screen use disorder (ScUD). An integrative approach to ScUD could better fit the polymodal reality of screens, and concurrent problems with screens, than a split approach, activity by activity. In that paradigm, a pragmatic and operationalized approach to study a potential ScUD requires the use of common criteria, for all screens and activities done on screens, in a single questionnaire.Objective: Our goals were (1) to describe screen uses in a general population sample and (2) to test the unidimensionality, local independence, and psychometric properties of the 9 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) internet gaming disorder (IGD) criteria adapted to screen use in a community sample. We hypothesized that the 9 DSM-5 IGD criteria adapted to ScUD would show unidimensionality, local independence, and good discrimination, with criteria distributed on the severity continuum.Methods: This cross-sectional survey in a French suburban city targeted adults and adolescents. A self-administered questionnaire covered the main types of screens used and their use for various activities in the past month. Presence of ScUD diagnostic criteria in past 12 months was also self-evaluated in the questionnaire. Factor and 2-parameter Item Response Theory analysis were used to investigate the dimensionality, local independence, and psychometric properties of the ScUD criteria.Results: Among the 300 participants, 171 (57.0%) were female (mean age 27 years), 297 (99.0%) used screens, 134 (44.7%) reported at least one criterion (potential problem users), and 5 (1.7%) reported 5 or more criteria and endorsed an ScUD. The most endorsed criteria were loss of control (60/300, 20.0%) and preoccupation (52/300, 17.3%). Screen types used and screen activities differed between participants with no ScUD criteria and those with at least one ScUD criterion. The latter were more likely to have a computer as the most used screen type, and more video gaming, communication/social network, and watching news and research of information as activities. Unidimensionality was confirmed by all fit indices. Local independence was confirmed by the absence of residual correlation between the items. Criteria had relatively high factor loading, with loss of interest in other recreational activities having the highest. However, criteria with the lowest factor loading all remained above the cut-offs, sanctioning unidimensionality. Most discriminating criteria were loss of interests, preoccupation, deceive/cover up, and risk/lose relationship/opportunities, which also provided the most information on the measurement of the latent trait.Conclusions: We described screen uses in a French community sample and have shown that the adaptation of the DSM-5 IGD to "ScUD" has good psychometric validity and is discriminating, confirming our hypothesis. We suggest to use those criteria to assess potential "ScUD." Further studies should determine if all criteria are needed and whether others should be added. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Screen media use is part of most children's everyday lives, but organisations have advised that use should be limited. The aims of this study were to describe 6-11-year-old Danish children's screen device ownership and screen media use (weekdays and weekends), including the role of parental education, family structure and household screen media rules. We conducted a cross-sectional study including 5274 Danish children aged 6-11-years sampled from ten Danish municipalities from May 2019 to November 2020. Characteristics of the sample and source population were obtained from the Danish Health Data Authority. Parent's completed the SCREENS questionnaire, which was developed to assess children's screen media habits. We used inverse probability weighted logistic and linear regression models. Smartphone and laptop ownership was higher with increasing age, and use of screen media varied across day type, age and gender. The proportion of children using screen media more than 4 h/day was 13% (95% CI 12%;14%) for weekdays and 28% (95% CI 27%;29%) for weekend days. Children of parents with medium-length or long educations had statistically significant lower odds of using screen media more than 4 h/day. We found a statistically significant graded relationship between household screen media rules and children's screen media use; the less parents reported presence of rules, the more time their children spent on screen media engagements. Our results suggest that parental educational level and family structure are related to unfavourable screen media habits, and household screen media rules may play an important role for parents to limit children's screen use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the consequences of COVID-19 lockdown on screen media use in children and adolescents with mental health problems, an online survey was conducted on leisure media use before, during and after the lockdown of spring 2020. Parents of patients (10-18 yrs) referred to child and adolescent psychiatry participated in an anonymous online survey, approximately six weeks after the first easing of lockdown measures. Parents rated the amount, the content and the psychological impact of their children's media use before, during and after the lockdown. N = 477 parents completed the survey. Patients showed a significant increase in media time during the lockdown (including devices such as mobile, tablet/PC, video game console, TV, and activities such as gaming, social media) and a moderate increase in the negative impact of media use on everyday life. After the lockdown, total media time returned to pre-COVID-19 levels in most patients, but remained slightly higher in males. A worsening of the main psychopathological problem during lockdown was related to elevated media time in children (10-13 yrs), but not in adolescents (14-18 yrs). According to parents' retrospective ratings, the increase in screen media time was reversible, and seems to reflect an expected coping strategy during lockdown. However, male patients did not completely return to pre-COVID-19 gaming time, and a small number continued to display excessive gaming. • Children and adolescents with mental health problems showed an important increase of media use during the lockdown. • A worsening of psychopathological problems was related to more elevated media time in children but not in adolescents. • Unhappy children and adolescents used digital media more intensely during the lockdown than happy ones. • In girls, media time returned to pre-Covid-19 levels after the lockdown, in boys it remained slightly higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence suggests that excessive screen time in early childhood is related to children's physical and mental health. This study aimed to review the relationships between screen media use and several health indicators in infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. A systematic search was conducted by two independent reviewers on PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library to identify the eligible studies, with an end date of 13 August 2019. Included studies (published in English) were peer-reviewed and met the determinate population (children aged 0-7 years with screen media exposure and related health outcomes). The AHRQ, NOS, and the Cochrane Handbook were used to evaluate the cross-sectional study, cohort study, and RCT, respectively. A meta-analysis and narrative syntheses were employed separately. Eighty studies (23 studies for meta-analysis) met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review. Strong evidence of the meta-analysis suggested that excessive screen time was associated with overweight/obesity and shorter sleep duration among toddlers and preschoolers. Excessive screen use was associated with various health indicators in physical, behavioral, and psychosocial aspects. Better-quality research on newer media devices, on various kinds of contents in young children, and on dose-response relationships between excessive screen use and health indicators are needed to update recommendations of screen use., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.