ArticleBMC public health2022
Associations of excessive screen time and early screen exposure with health-related quality of life and behavioral problems among children attending preschools.
Article in BMC public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers.
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Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 58 citations in OpenAlex.
- Early Screen Time and Behavioral Symptom Trajectories in Children With Autism and ADHD: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- The Relationship Between Temperament, Screen Exposure, and Psychological Adjustment in Preschool Children.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Behavioral and emotional problems and quality of life in Chinese children with Langerhans cell histiocytosis.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- Parental sports support and emotional-behavioral problems in preschoolers: the chain mediating roles of exercise habits and parent-child relationships.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Mindful parenting and preschoolers' screen dependency behavior: the mediating role of parent-child relationship and the moderating role of effortful control.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Screen exposure patterns and their associations with obesity and sleep among preschool children in a resource-limited city in eastern China: a multicenter cross-sectional study protocol.Frontiers in public health · 2026Observational
- Longitudinal associations of screen time and outdoor physical activity trajectories with executive function and behavioral problems in children aged 4 years in china: a prospective cohort study.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Early Screen Exposure and Preadolescent Outcomes: A Longitudinal Follow-Up on Dysregulation, Academic Achievements, and Capacity to Be Alone.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The Potential Mediating Role of Good Mental Health on the Relationship Between Low Physical Activity and High Screen Time with Executive Functions in Chilean Children and Adolescents.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Media Consumption by Preschool Children: The Risk of Autism and Developmental Disorders.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2025Review
- Associations between 24-hour movement guidelines and health-related quality of life among urban preschool children in Singapore, Japan, and China.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2025Article
- Screen time, physical activity, and health-related quality of life in early childhood: a cross-sectional study of Spanish preschoolers.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Family Dynamics and Digital Distractions: A Survey-Based Study on How Co-Parenting and Parental Phubbing Shape Preschoolers' Media Use.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Maternal adverse childhood experiences were associated with early screen exposure and prolonged daily screen time in preschool children.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Problematic Digital Technology Use Measures in Children Aged 0 to 6 Years: Scoping Review.JMIR mental health · 2025Article
- Prolonged screen time is associated with increased severity of tic symptoms in children with tic disorders.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2025Article
- The mediating role of the connection with nature in the relationship between behavioral problems and emotion regulation in early childhood.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Effects of different levels of physical activity on the health-related quality of life among rural junior high school students in China: the moderating role of parental co-participation in physical activities.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- The importance of mother-child interaction on smart device usage and behavior outcomes among toddlers: a longitudinal study.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2024Article
- Determinants of health-related quality of life in healthy children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from a prospective longitudinal cohort study.European journal of pediatrics · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundBoth excessive screen time and early screen exposure have been linked to children's health outcomes, but few studies considered these two exposures simultaneously. The aim of this study was to explore the independent and interactive associations of excessive screen time and early screen exposure with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and behavioral problems among Chinese children attending preschools.
methodsA cross-sectional study of 4985 children aged between 3 and 6 years was conducted in Chengdu, China. Each parent has finished an online questionnaire regarding their children's screen use, HRQOL, and behavioral problems. Children with screen time over 1 h/day were considered as having excessive screen time. Early screen exposure was defined if the children had started using screen-based media before the age of 2 years. HRQOL was assessed by the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory version 4.0 (PedsQL 4.0), while behavioral problems were confirmed with the 48-item Conners' Parent Rating Scale (CPRS-48).
resultsOf the 4985 children (2593 boys and 2392 girls) included, the mean age was 4.6 (SD: 1.0) years. After adjustment for confounders and early screen exposure, excessive screen time was significantly associated with worse HRQOL scores in all dimensions and summary scales, as well as each type of behavioral problems (all p values < 0.05). We also found that compared to children with later initiation of screen exposure, those with screen use before the age of 2 years had significantly lower emotional functioning score (β: - 2.13, 95%CI: - 3.17, - 1.09) and psychosocial health summary score (β: - 0.82, 95%CI: - 1.54, - 0.10) of HRQOL, as well as higher risks of conduct problems, learning problems, psychosomatic problems, impulsive-hyperactive, and hyperactivity index, which were independent of excessive screen use. Furthermore, there were significant interactive effects of excessive screen time and early screen exposure on emotional functioning domain of HRQOL scores and conduct problems.
conclusionExcessive screen time and early screen exposure are two independent and interactive factors to children's HRQOL and behavioral problems. Our findings support current guidelines to limit screen exposure in children. Appropriate screen use may represent an important intervention target to improve children's HRQOL and reduce their behavioral problems.
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