Suleman Marriam, Sughra Ume, Riaz Asmaa, Akbar Maheen
Dr. Marriam Suleman, MBBS, MSPH., Al-Shifa Research Centre, Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital Main GT Road, Near Ayub Park, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Prof. Dr. Ume Sughra, MBBS, MPH, FCPS, FRCP, MCPS-HPE., Al-Shifa Research Centre, Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital Main GT Road, Near Ayub Park, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Pak J Med Sci. 2023 Mar-Apr;39(2):502-507. doi: 10.12669/pjms.39.2.6883.
Early years of childhood form the basis of intelligence, personality, social behaviour, and capacity to learn and nurture oneself as an adult. Our objective was to find out the effects of screen time on behavior of pre-schoolers, which could provide scientific grounds to the control of digital screen time.
A cross sectional survey was conducted in four private preschools of Islamabad from June -November 2021. A sample size of 200 children ages three-five years were selected through multistage random sampling using a parental questionnaire. Children were grouped based on daily screen time of ≤60 minutes or >60 minutes. Analysis was made based on the Child behavior checklist for ages eighteen months-five years results. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was found to be 0.925. It was analyzed using SPSS version 22. Chi-square test, independent sample t-test and multi linear regression were applied to determine the association and significance levels between the variables.
Study results indicate increased screen time was statistically significant with child's age, education level and employment status of mothers. It was observed that pre-schoolers with screen time of > 60 minutes tend to suffer more from withdrawal syndrome (11.94±3.91, p = 0.014) sleep problems (10.97±3.20, p = 0.010) and Autism spectrum problems (17.66±5.89, p = 0.047) as compared to pre-schoolers with screen time ≤60 minutes. Strongest predictor of outcome variable was found to be mothers education level (ß = 21.53).
Study findings revealed that excessive screen time has deleterious effect and is associated with behavioural problems of pre-schoolers.
儿童早期是智力、个性、社会行为以及成年后学习和自我培养能力的基础。我们的目的是找出屏幕使用时间对学龄前儿童行为的影响，这可为控制数字屏幕使用时间提供科学依据。
2021年6月至11月在伊斯兰堡的四所私立幼儿园进行了一项横断面调查。通过使用家长问卷的多阶段随机抽样，选取了200名3至5岁的儿童作为样本。根据每日屏幕使用时间≤60分钟或>60分钟对儿童进行分组。根据18个月至5岁儿童行为检查表的结果进行分析。发现克朗巴哈系数为0.925。使用SPSS 22版进行分析。应用卡方检验、独立样本t检验和多元线性回归来确定变量之间的关联和显著性水平。
研究结果表明，屏幕使用时间的增加与儿童年龄、母亲的教育水平和就业状况在统计学上具有显著相关性。据观察，与屏幕使用时间≤60分钟的学龄前儿童相比，屏幕使用时间>60分钟的学龄前儿童更容易出现退缩综合征（11.94±3.91，p = 0.014）、睡眠问题（10.97±3.20，p = 0.010）和自闭症谱系问题（17.66±5.89，p = 0.047）。发现结果变量的最强预测因素是母亲的教育水平（β = 21.53）。
研究结果显示，过多的屏幕使用时间具有有害影响，并且与学龄前儿童的行为问题相关。
