Association between screen time and children’s performance on a developmental screening test
Open accessAbstract
Importance: Excessive screen time is associated with delays in development; however, it is unclear if greater screen time predicts lower performance scores on developmental screening tests or if children with poor developmental performance receive added screen time as a way to modulate challenging behavior. Objective: To assess the directional association between screen time and child development in a population of mothers and children. Design, Setting, and Participants: This longitudinal cohort study used a 3-wave, cross-lagged panel model in 2441 mothers and children in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, drawn from the All Our Families study. Data were available when children were aged 24, 36, and 60 months. Data were collected between October 20, 2011, and October 6, 2016. Statistical analyses were conducted from July 31 to November 15, 2018. Exposures: Media. Main Outcomes and Measures: At age 24, 36, and 60 months, children's screen-time behavior (total hours per week) and developmental outcomes (Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Third Edition) were assessed via maternal report. Results: Of the 2441 children included in the analysis, 1227 (50.2%) were boys. A random-intercepts, cross-lagged panel model revealed that higher levels of screen time at 24 and 36 months were significantly associated with poorer performance on developmental screening tests at 36 months (β, -0.06; 95% CI, -0.10 to -0.01) and 60 months (β, -0.08; 95% CI, -0.13 to -0.02), respectively. These within-person (time-varying) associations statistically controlled for between-person (stable) differences. Conclusions and Relevance: The results of this study support the directional association between screen time and child development. Recommendations include encouraging family media plans, as well as managing screen time, to offset the potential consequences of excess use.
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Specifically, more digital media at ages 2 and 3 predicted poorer milestone achievement at ages 3 and 5, respectively.
“Specifically, digital media duration at age 2 and 3 was directionally associated with poorer achievement of developmental milestones at ages 3 and 5, respectively.90”
From Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents: Technical Report (2026) · cites this paper as [90]
One study linked digital media duration to achievement of developmental milestones at ages 2, 3, and 5.
“In terms of longitudinal studies testing bidirectional effects, one study found associations between quantity of digital media duration and children’s achievement of developmental milestones at ages 2, 3, and 5 years.90”
From Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents: Technical Report (2026) · cites this paper as [90]
Excessive screen time is associated with problems in meeting developmental milestones for motor skills, spatio-temporal abilities, problem solving and language acquisition.
“Excessive screen time was found to be associated with problems in meeting developmental milestones for motor skills, spatio-temporal abilities, problem solving and language acquisition [7].”
Enriched environments promoting spatio-temporal learning and higher order analytic abilities contribute to minimizing the risk of developing ADRD.
“Additionally, education should be created to focus more on enriched environments promoting spatio-temporal learning and higher order analytic abilities, which both contribute to minimizing the risk of developing ADRD [7,106].”
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- Authors
- Madigan, S., Browne, D., Racine, N., Mori, C., & Tough, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Calgary (CA)
- University of Waterloo (CA)
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Madigan, Sheri
- Venue
- JAMA Pediatrics
- Publisher
- American Medical Association (AMA)
- Published
- 2019-03-01
- Volume
- 173
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 244
- ISSN
- 1072-4710 (ISSN-L)
- 2168-6203
- PMC
- PMC6439882
- OpenAlex
- W2911956244
- Cited by
- 734
- References
- 55
- Citations by year
- 2026: 130 · 2025: 99 · 2024: 116 · 2023: 134 · 2022: 84 · 2021: 84 · 2020: 53 · 2019: 33 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 171.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Keywords
- screen time, child development, developmental screening, Ages and Stages Questionnaire, toddlers, preschool children, developmental delay, maternal report
- MeSH terms
- Screen Time, Child Behavior, Child Development, Child, Preschool, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Infant, Parent-Child Relations, Prospective Studies, Surveys and Questionnaires, Parenting, Sedentary Behavior
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