ReviewPreventive medicine reports2021
What behavior change techniques are associated with effective interventions to reduce screen time in 0-5 year olds? A narrative systematic review.
Review in Preventive medicine reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- A scoping review of healthcare provider-led interventions for managing young children's screen time.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of parent-focused interventions for screen use on developmental outcomes in young children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2026Pooled it
- Identifying effective intervention strategies to reduce children's screen time: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2021Pooled it
- Impact of ¡Míranos! on parent-reported home-based healthy energy balance-related behaviors in low-income Latino preschool children: a clustered randomized controlled trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2023Trial
- Intergenerational Co-parenting and Children's Screen Use: A Scoping Review.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2026Article
- Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents: Technical Report.Pediatrics · 2026Review
- Digital screen exposure in infants, children and adolescents: a systematic review of existing recommendations.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2025Review
- Media Consumption by Preschool Children: The Risk of Autism and Developmental Disorders.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2025Review
- The effect of electronic health (eHealth) interventions for promoting physical activity self-efficacy in children: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of exercise science and fitness · 2024Review
- Lifestyle Behaviors of Childhood and Adolescence: Contributing Factors, Health Consequences, and Potential Interventions.American journal of lifestyle medicine · 2024Review
- Managing Screen Use in the Under-Fives: Recommendations for Parenting Intervention Development.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2023Article
- "Everything kind of revolves around technology": a qualitative exploration of families' screen use experiences, and intervention suggestions.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Eating Behaviors of Children with Autism-Pilot Study, Part II.Nutrients · 2021Article
- Eating Behaviors of Children with Autism-Pilot Study.Nutrients · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Screen time has been linked to obesity in young children. Therefore, this systematic review aims to investigate which Behavior Change Techniques (BCTs) are associated with the effectiveness of interventions to reduce screen time in 0-5 year olds. Seven databases were searched, including PsycInfo, PubMed, and Medline. Grey literature searches were conducted. Inclusion criteria were interventions reporting pre- and post- outcomes with the primary objective of reducing screen time in 0-5 year olds. Studies were quality assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project criteria. Data extracted included participant characteristics, intervention characteristics and screen time outcomes. The BCT Taxonomy was used to extract BCTs. Interventions were categorised as "very", "quite" or "non" promising based on effect sizes. BCTs were deemed promising if they were in twice as many very/quite promising interventions as non-promising interventions. Seven randomised controlled trials were included, involving 642 participants between 2.5 and 5.0 years old. One very promising, four quite promising, and two non-promising interventions were identified. Screen time decreased by 25-39 min per day in very/quite promising interventions. Eleven BCTs were deemed promising, including "behavior substitution" and "information about social and environmental consequences". This review identified eleven promising BCTs, which should be incorporated into future screen time interventions with young children. However, most included studies were of weak quality and limited by the populations targeted. Therefore, future methodologically rigorous interventions targeting at-risk populations with higher screen time, such as those of a low socioeconomic status and children with a high BMI, should be prioritized.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.