It has been proposed that early-life screen use can impact the development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Some studies have supported a weak association between higher levels of screen time and ADHD symptoms; however, this association is vulnerable to confounding and a causal explanation remains controversial. To help address confounding in this association, we conducted inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analyses in a large UK-representative longitudinal sample to examine the impact of TV/video viewing at age 3 on ADHD symptoms at age 5. Adjusting for confounding, we found that both no TV/video viewing and viewing more than 3 h of TV/video compared to between 1 and 3 h were associated with increased ADHD symptoms. However, the effect of no TV/video viewing was mirrored in a negative outcome control analysis, suggesting potential residual confounding. Results are consistent with claims that high levels of TV/video viewing in preschool years may impact the development of ADHD symptoms. Trial-based research which examines the impact of reducing high levels of TV/video viewing in this age group would be merited to further illuminate this association and assess whether it is likely to reflect a causal effect. Not applicable.
Murray et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: