ArticlePilot and feasibility studies2023
Patterns of preschool children's screen time, parent-child interactions, and cognitive development in early childhood: a pilot study.
Article in Pilot and feasibility studies, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Screen Use, Child Development and Family Involvement in Children Aged 2-7 Years: A Systematic Review.Journal of paediatrics and child health · 2026Pooled it
- Early Childhood Screen Use Contexts and Cognitive and Psychosocial Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA pediatrics · 2024Pooled it
- Examining the relationship between language development, executive function, and screen time: A systematic review.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Beyond Screen Time: A Scoping Review of Screen Exposure and Early Childhood Development.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Associations Between Early Screen Exposure and Neurocognitive Outcomes in Children Aged 2-5 Years: A Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Longitudinal Association Between Media Use and Development in Preschool: Moderation by Maternal Education.Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2026Article
- Using Wearable Video Cameras to Assess Screen Use Contexts in Preschool-Aged Children: Pilot Observational Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2026Article
- A longitudinal study of parent-child relationship and behavioral problems in children aged 3 to 6: the mediating role of screen time.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Impact of Screen Time on Language Development and Vocabulary Acquisition in Early Childhood: A Systematic Review.Cureus · 2025Review
- How Is the Digital Age Shaping Young Minds? A Rapid Systematic Review of Executive Functions in Children and Adolescents with Exposure to ICT.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The Relationship between Language and Technology: How Screen Time Affects Language Development in Early Life-A Systematic Review.Brain sciences · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe primary objective of this study was to explore the feasibility of a virtual study protocol for a future longitudinal study, including recruitment, study measures, and procedures. The secondary objective was to examine preliminary hypotheses of associations, including 1) the correlations between total duration and patterns of screen time and cognitive development, and 2) the differences in quality of parent-child interactions for two screen-based tasks and a storybook reading task.
methodsParticipants included 44 children aged 3 years and their parents from Edmonton, Alberta and surrounding areas. Children's screen time patterns (i.e., type, device, content, context) were parental-reported using a 2-week online daily diary design. Children's cognitive development (i.e., working memory, inhibitory control, self-control, and language) was measured virtually through a recorded Zoom session. Parent-child interactions during three separate tasks (i.e., video, electronic game, and storybook reading) were also measured virtually through a separate recorded Zoom session (n = 42). The quality of the interactions was determined by the Parent-Child Interaction System (PARCHISY). Descriptive statistics, Intra-class correlations (ICC), Spearman's Rho correlations, and a one-way repeated measures ANOVA with a post-hoc Bonferroni test were conducted.
resultsAll virtual protocol procedures ran smoothly. Most (70%) participants were recruited from four 1-week directly targeted Facebook ads. High completion rates and high inter-rater reliability in a random sample (Diary: 95% for 13/14 days; Cognitive development: 98% 3/4 tests, ICC > 0.93; Parent-child interactions: 100% for 3 tasks, Weighted Kappa ≥ 0.84) were observed for measures. Across cognitive development outcomes, medium effect sizes were observed for five correlations, with positive correlations observed with certain content (i.e., educational screen time) and negative associations observed for total screen time and certain types (show/movie/video viewing) and contexts (i.e., co-use). Medium and large effect sizes were observed for the differences in parent-child interaction quality between the three tasks.
conclusionsThe virtual study protocol appeared feasible. Preliminary findings suggest it may be important to go beyond total duration and consider type, content, and context when examining the association between screen time and cognitive development. A future longitudinal study using this virtual protocol will be conducted with a larger and more generalizable sample.
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