Structural Relationships Among Children’s Duration of Media Use, Behavior Problems, and School Adjustment

Objective The purpose of this study was to explore the structural relationships among duration of media use, behavior problems, and school adjustment, while accounting for gender differences. Methods The study used 4th-wave panel data from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Study, and 2,119 first graders in elementary school were analyzed. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. Results The results can be summarized as follows. First, the duration of media use had a direct effect on school adjustment. Secondly, the duration of media use had an indirect effect on school adjustment through internalizing and externalizing problems. According to multigroup analysis, gender differences were found in the structural relations among variables. Conclusion This study emphasizes the needs for media usage education to improve children's school adjustment. Furthermore, it suggests that different intervention strategies for internalizing/ externalizing behavior problems are needed depending on gender.