ArticleFrontiers in public health2026
Parental concern and multiple dimensions of preschool children's digital media use: a cross-sectional study.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Digital media exposure is widespread during early childhood, yet the relationship between parental concern regarding children's screen use and children's actual digital media behaviours remains poorly understood. We examined the relationship between parental concern and multiple dimensions of children's screen media use, including screen time, age at first exposure, and type of content. Methods: Cross-sectional data from 892 preschool children (2-6 years) recruited from the District of Coimbra, Portugal, and participating in the ScreenHealth project (2024) were analysed. Parents reported children's screen use, socio-demographic characteristics, and concern regarding screen exposure. Screen time was categorised. Regression models were used to assess associations. Results: Concerns regarding inappropriate content, problematic or addictive screen use, and visual health were the most frequently reported by parents, whereas concerns about sleep and unhealthy food and drink advertising were less common. Moderate parental concern was associated with higher odds of children belonging to higher screen time categories (OR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.29-2.47, Conclusion: Parental concern regarding children's screen use was associated with multiple dimensions of preschool children's digital media use but was not consistently associated with lower screen exposure. These findings suggest that parental concern alone may be insufficient to explain or predict children's screen use behaviours. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the direction of these associations. Interventions supporting healthy digital media use during early childhood should combine evidence-based guidance with practical, context-sensitive strategies that help families establish sustainable screen-use practises.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.