ArticleBMJ open2021
High-dose electronic media use in five-year-olds and its association with their psychosocial symptoms: a cohort study.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of intervention on screen time in preschoolers: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Longitudinal associations between digital media use and ADHD symptoms in children and adolescents: a systematic literature review.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Association of Screen Time With Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Problems in Children 12 Years or Younger: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Screen time and depression risk: A meta-analysis of cohort studies.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Article
- Incidence of ADHD medication use among Finnish children and adolescents in 2008-2019: a need for practice changes?Scandinavian journal of public health · 2025Article
- Associations between parent-child outdoor visits and preschool-aged children's screen time: a cross-sectional study.Journal of activity, sedentary and sleep behaviors · 2025Article
- Duration of ADHD medication treatment among Finnish children and adolescents ‒ a nationwide register study.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Article
- The effects of tv/video viewing hours on later ADHD symptoms: a counterfactual analysis in longitudinal population-representative data.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- Trajectories of Physical Activity and Screen Media Use in Toddlers and Related Parenting Practices: Child and Mother Physical Activity Study (CAMPAS).Research square · 2025Article
- Parenting Practices and Well-Being and Health Behaviors Among Young Asian American Children.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Association between screen time, homework and reading duration, sleep duration, social jetlag and mental health among Chinese children and adolescents.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- Children's screen time and psychosocial symptoms at 5 years of age - the role of parental factors.BMC pediatrics · 2024Article
- Screen Time and Socioemotional and Behavioural Difficulties Among Indigenous Children in Canada: Temps d'écran et difficultés socio-émotionnelles et comportementales chez les enfants autochtones du Canada.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2024Article
- High screen time and internalizing and externalizing behaviours among children aged 3 to 14 years during the COVID-19 pandemic in France.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2024Article
- Screen Time, Sociodemographic Factors, and Psychological Well-Being Among Young Children.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Association between the use of mobile touchscreen devices and the quality of parent-child interaction in preschoolers.Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry · 2024Article
- The Dark Side of Multimedia Devices: Negative Consequences for Socioemotional Development in Early Childhood.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Association between Children's Difficulties, Parent-Child Sleep, Parental Control, and Children's Screen Time: A Cross-Sectional Study in Japan.Pediatric reports · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThis study investigated the frequency of electronic media (e-media) usage by preschool children and the risks of high-dose e-media use on young children's psychosocial well-being.
designLongitudinal associations between e-media use at 18 months and psychosocial symptoms at 5 years of age were studied, as well as cross-sectional associations between e-media use and psychosocial symptoms at 5 years.
settingBetween 2011 and 2017 in Finland.
participantsChildren aged 5 years (n=699). PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Children's psychosocial symptoms were determined at the age of 5 years using the parent-reported questionnaires Five-to-Fifteen (FTF) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).
resultsBased on our results, 95% of the preschool children exceeded the daily recommended use of e-media set by health professionals. Our results indicate that increased screen time at 5 years of age is associated with a risk of multiple psychosocial symptoms (OR 1.53-2.18, 95% CI 1.05 to 3.34, p<0.05), while increased levels of e-media use at 18 months was only associated with FTF peer problems (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.41, p=0.03). Moreover, high-dose use of electronic games at the age of 5 years seems to be associated with fewer risks for psychosocial well-being than programme viewing, as it was only associated with SDQ hyperactivity (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.08 to 2.51, p=0.02).
conclusionIncreased screen time has multiple risks for children's psychosocial well-being. These risk factors seem to be significant in the long term, and are related to problems in children's socio-emotional development later on. Health professionals and paediatricians have an important role as communicators of the current research results on the safe usage time of e-media for families, and enhancing parents' skills as regulators of children's safe e-media use. More research is needed on the family conditions of high-dose e-media users.
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Registered trials
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