A longitudinal study of the relationship between children's exposure to screen media and vocabulary development

© 2023 The Authors. Acta Paediatrica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation Acta Paediatrica..

AIM: This study addresses the scarcity of longitudinal research on the influence of screen media on children. It aims to explore the longitudinal relationship between children's vocabulary development and their exposure to screen media.

METHODS: The study, initiated in 2017, included 72 children (37 boys) in Östergötland, Sweden, at three key developmental stages: preverbal (9.7 months), early verbal (25.5 months) and preliterate (5.4 years). Parents completed online surveys at each time point, reporting their child's screen time. At 10 months and 2 years, age-appropriate vocabulary assessments were conducted online. At age 5, children's vocabulary was laboratory assessed.

RESULTS: Correlational analysis revealed a negative relationship between language scores and screen media use across all time points. Furthermore, a cross-lagged panel model demonstrated that screen media use showed significant continuity over time, with screen use at age 2 predicting language development at ages 2 and 5.

CONCLUSION: This longitudinal study, spanned from 9 months to 5 years of age, established a predictive negative association between children's exposure to screen media and their vocabulary development. These findings underscore the need to consider the impact of screen media on early childhood development and may inform guidelines for screen media use in young children.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2024

Erschienen:

2024

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:113

Enthalten in:

Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) - 113(2024), 3 vom: 24. Feb., Seite 517-522

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Sundqvist, Annette [VerfasserIn]
Barr, Rachel [VerfasserIn]
Heimann, Mikael [VerfasserIn]
Birberg-Thornberg, Ulrika [VerfasserIn]
Koch, Felix-Sebastian [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Early childhood
Journal Article
Language development
Longitudinal study
Screen media

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 14.02.2024

Date Revised 14.02.2024

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1111/apa.17047

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM365057711