Institute of Epidemiology and Medical Biometry, Ulm University; Helmholtzstraße 22, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
Division of Clinical Epidemiology and Ageing Research, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 581, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Jun 16;15(6):1275. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15061275.
Screen time is a central activity of children’s daily life and jeopardizes mental health. However, results appear inconclusive and are often based on small cross-sectional studies. We aimed to investigate the temporal sequence of the association between screen time and self-esteem taking into account further indirect effects through family or friendship relationship. In our population-based birth cohort study (baseline November 2000⁻November 2001, Ulm, Germany), these relationships were explored in = 519 11- and 13-year-old children and their parents who both provided information on children’s screen time: time spent watching television or videos (TV), time spent on computers, video game consoles, mobile devices, or cell phones; so called “other screen time”, and children’s self-esteem (KINDL-R). Time watching TV (self-reported) at age 11 was negatively associated with girls’ self-esteem at the same age but positively with an increase of self-esteem between age 11 and 13. However, the latter association was restricted to low to moderate TV viewers. In boys, a higher increase of other screen time between age 11 and age 13 was associated with lower self-reported self-esteem at age 13. Additionally, friendship relationship mediated the association between watching TV and self-esteem in girls. For parental reports similar associations were observed. These findings indicate that time sequence and potential mediators need further investigation in cohort studies with multiple assessments of screen time and self-esteem.
屏幕时间是儿童日常生活的核心活动，会影响心理健康。然而，目前的研究结果并不一致，而且往往基于小型的横断面研究。我们旨在探讨屏幕时间与自尊之间的关联的时间顺序，并考虑到通过家庭或友谊关系的进一步间接影响。在我们的基于人群的出生队列研究（基线时间为 2000 年 11 月至 2001 年 11 月，德国乌尔姆）中，我们调查了 519 名 11 岁和 13 岁的儿童及其父母之间的这些关系，父母双方都提供了有关儿童屏幕时间的信息：看电视或视频的时间（电视）、使用电脑、视频游戏控制台、移动设备或手机的时间；所谓的“其他屏幕时间”，以及儿童的自尊（KINDL-R）。11 岁时看电视（自我报告）的时间与同年龄女孩的自尊呈负相关，但与 11 岁至 13 岁之间自尊的增加呈正相关。然而，后者的关联仅限于低至中度的电视观众。在男孩中，11 岁至 13 岁之间其他屏幕时间的增加与 13 岁时自我报告的自尊较低有关。此外，友谊关系在女孩中调节了看电视和自尊之间的关系。对于父母报告，也观察到类似的关联。这些发现表明，在具有多次屏幕时间和自尊评估的队列研究中，需要进一步研究时间顺序和潜在的中介因素。
