Digital media use and neurocognitive development in senior preschool age children

Objective: to assess the association between a number of digital media device use indicators and neurocognitive, intellectual, and speech development in preschool children. Context and relevance. The results of studies on the impact of digital media device use on children’s neurocognitive development remain contradictory. Studies in samples of preschool children are few, and Russia lacks a legislative framework and recommendations for parents on limiting the digital environment for children of different age categories. Methods and materials. The study was a cross-sectional observational and retrospective (when assessing a number of characteristics) design. The presence and nature of associations were tested through correlation analysis and comparing of subgroups with different qualitative characteristics. Participants: Russian sample of senior preschool children: N = 166 (107 boys, age 6.5 [6.0; 7.0] — median and interquartile range). Methods (tools): standardized examination by a psychiatrist, neuropsychologist, parent questionnaire on the child’s use of the digital environment, the International Leiter-3 Productivity Scale, the SHUHFRIED hardware and software complex (HSC), the Clinical Assessment of the Development of Basic Linguistic Competencies (KORABLIK) method. Results. Significant negative associations were found between the gadget use and speech, intellectual development, acoustic and visual gnosis, operational and mechanical verbal memory. Both the age of the onset of gadget use and the average daily time of using gadgets in older preschool age have a negative impact on neuropsychic development. Positive associations were also obtained between the use of gadgets and a number of indicators using the SHUHFRIED hardware and software complex, which can be explained by the trained skill of interacting with digital devices in children who use gadgets more often. Conclusions. The use of gadgets negatively affects a number of indicators of neurocognitive development of preschoolers. The multidirectional associations obtained using digital and non-digital methods of assessing cognitive functions require further study.