Correlates of small screens play in 6–10-year-old children in China

Abstract IMPORTANCE Most of the current studies focus on fixed screens. However, the small mobile devices have been widely used among children of a younger age. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore the factors associated with small screen use and its duration among first and second grade elementary school students based on Chinese cross-sectional data. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A total of 1121 students aged 6-10 years were recruited for this study. Logistic regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors of whether students use small screen devices and linear regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors of students' small electronic screen time. The data analysis spanned from August 21, 2023, to January 1, 2024. EXPOSURES A questionnaire was used to collect basic information about students and parents and the use of small screens. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Recommendations for students' scientific use of small screen time in response to survey results. RESULTS Girls (OR=0.74, p=0.035), having their own mobile phone (OR=3.66, p<0.001), unclear screen rules (OR=1.45, p<0.001), father's education level (OR=0.49, p=0.033), and mother's weekend screen time (<1 h/d as the reference group) 1-2 h/d (OR=2.49, p=0.001), 2-3 h/d (OR=2.7, p=0.001), ≥3 h/d (OR=2.27, p=0.009) were significantly associated with students’ use on screens. For total time (weekdays + weekends), girls spent more time on small screens compared to boys (β=58.88, p=0.043); having their own mobile phone or tablet computer (β=65.47, p=0.026), the less clear the family's screen time rules (β=60.55, p<0.001), and the longer mother's weekend screen time (β=142.61, p=0.027) were associated with longer total screen time for students. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Availability of their own small electronic devices, clarity of screen rules, father's education, and mother's weekend screen time were significantly correlated with students' screen time in China. Future studies with longitudinal design are needed.