Psychological Correlates of Sedentary Screen Time Behaviour Among Children and Adolescents: a Narrative Review
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PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUES (V DRAPEAU AND V IVEZAJ, SECTION EDITORS)
Psychological Correlates of Sedentary Screen Time Behaviour Among Children and Adolescents: a Narrative Review Fatima Mougharbel 1,2 & Gary S. Goldfield 2,3
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Purpose of Review The aims of this narrative review were to (1) synthesise the literature on the relationship between screen time and important mental health outcomes and (2) examine the underpinning factors that can influence this association. Recent Findings Paralleling the rise of mental health issues in children and adolescents is the ubiquitous overuse of screens, but it is unclear how screen time is related to important mental health outcomes and whether this association differs by gender, age and screen type. Methods Medline/PubMed, PsychINFO and Google Scholar databases were searched on December 2019 for articles published mainly in the last 5 years. The search focused on two main concepts: (i) screen time and (ii) mental health outcomes including anxiety, depression, psychological and psychosocial well-being and body image concerns. Results Sixty studies were included in the review. Higher levels of screen time were associated with more severe depressive symptoms. We found moderate evidence for an association between screen time and poor psychological well-being and body dissatisfaction especially among females. Relationships between screen time and anxiety were inconsistent and somewhat gender specific. Social media use was consistently associated with poorer mental health. Summary Higher levels of screen time are generally associated with poorer mental health outcomes, but associations are influenced by screen type, gender and age. Practitioners, parents, policy makers and researchers should collectively identify and evaluate strategies to reduce screen time, or to use screens more adaptively, as a means of promoting better mental health among children and adolescents. Keywords Screen time . Depression . Anxiety . Psychological well-being . Body image . Children . Adolescent
Introduction Worldwide, 13.4% of children and adolescents experience mental health disorders [1], indicating that adolescents are at high risk. In fact, 70% of mental illnesses start in early ages [2], and many persist into adulthood [3]. These statistics are alarming given that mental disorders contribute 21.8% of the total burden of disease in high-income countries among children and * Gary S. Goldfield [email protected] Fatima Mougharbel [email protected] 1
Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
2
Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, ON, Canada
3
Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, 401 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1, Canada
adolescents aged 0–14 years [4] and can reduce life expectancy by 20 years [5], thus leading to premature mortality. Sedentary behaviour is defined as any waking
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