Changes in children’s pattern of digital media use and parental variables during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Child attention skills are critical for supporting self-regulation abilities, especially during the first years of life. On the other hand, inattention symptoms in preschoolers have been associated with poor school readiness, literacy skills and academic achievement. Previous research has linked excessive screen time with increased inattention symptoms in early childhood. However, most research has only focused on TV exposure and did not investigate this association during the COVID-19 pandemic. This atypical context has increased screen time in children worldwide, including preschoolers. This study aimed to investigate the prospective association between child screen time and parenting stress when children were 3.5 and later inattention symptoms at age 4.5. Participants were parents of Canadian preschoolers that reported screen media use, parenting stress, and individual child and family characteristics during the pandemic (N=315, 2020) and inattention symptoms one year later (N=264). Analyses using multiple linear regression, revealed a positive association between child screen time at age 3.5 and inattention symptoms at 4.5 years. Parental stress was also positively associated with child inattention symptoms. Associations were observed above individual (child age, inhibitory control, and sex) and family (parent education and family income) characteristics. These results highlight that preschooler screen use and parenting stress may undermine attentional skills. Practical implications are discussed.

La pandemia de COVID-19 tiene el potencial de aumentar el uso de las tecnologías por parte de la infância temprana y plantear desafíos específicos para los padres. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar la dinámica y las asociaciones entre la percepción de cambio en el uso de los medios digitales durante la pandemia, las variables parentales (pérdida de apoyo social, síntomas de trastornos mentales comunes (TMC), estrés percibido, autoeficacia parental y satisfacción) y la edad del niño. Participaron 231 padres (M=33,84 años; DE=4,84; 91.80% mujeres) de niños de hasta 36 meses. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron: Cuestionario de Datos Sociodemográficos; Cuestionario de uso de medios; Cuestionario de Autoinforme (SRQ-20); Escala de Estrés Percibido (PSS-4); Escala de sentido de competencia parental (PSOC). Se realizaron análisis descriptivos y análisis de redes de correlación parcial regularizados. Los resultados indican una percepción de mayor tiempo de uso y la inserción de nuevos dispositivos en la rutina de los niños. Se encontraron altas tasas de pérdida de apoyo social, estrés percibido y síntomas de TMC. La pérdida de apoyo social y la edad del niño estuvieron fuertemente asociadas con cambios en el patrón de uso. La percepción de un mayor tiempo de uso resultó relevante desde el punto de vista de la intervención, así como de las medidas de salud mental y la pérdida de apoyo social.