Investigating the Role of Family and Shortcomings in Interventions to Reduce Children's Use of Digital Media

Document Type : مروری

Authors

1 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department psychology,Tarbiat Modares university

Abstract

Children’s screen time is increasing and has devastating effects on various aspects of their development and health. This systematic review study was conducted to investigate the role of family and shortcomings in interventions to reduce children's use of digital media. PsycNet, ScienceDirect, Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ISC, SID and IranDoc were searched from 2000 to 2019. All research studies that were RCT with children under age 12 and aimed to reduce ST in children were eligible to study. 18 of them were eligible and were included in the review. Most of the strategies used were behavioral and cognitive, and family factors, including communication between family members and child- parent relationship as an important and influential factors in managing child behavior were largely neglected across the articles reviewed. Awareness of parents about the negative consequences of children's over- use of digital devices and training them to perform alternative and joint activities as two main elements can make interventions be more effective than when they focus only on teaching skills to children. In addition, involving parents in interventions is more effective when other influential factors such as child and parent characteristics, quality of parent-child interaction, patterns of parenting behaviors, parenting styles and influencing factors in home environment should also be considered.

Keywords


Adams, E. L., Marini, M. E., Stokes, J., Birch, L. L., Paul, I. M., & Savage, J. S. (2018). Insight responsive parenting intervention reduces infant’s screen time and television exposure. International journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity15(1), 24.
Arundell, L., Parker, K., Timperio, A., Salmon, J., & Veitch, J. (2020). Home-based screen time behaviors amongst youth and their parents: familial typologies and their modifiable correlates. BMC public health20(1), 1-11.
Attai, P., Szabat, J., Anzman-Frasca, S., & Kong, K. L. (2020). Associations between Parental and Child Screen Time and Quality of the Home Environment: A Preliminary Investigation. International journal of environmental research and public health17(17), 6207.
Aubert, S., Barnes, J. D., Abdeta, C., Abi Nader, P., Adeniyi, A. F., Aguilar-Farias, N., ... & Tremblay, M. S. (2018). Global matrix 3.0 physical activity report card grades for children and youth: results and analysis from 49 countries. Journal of physical activity and health15(s2), S251-S273.
Azevedo, M. R., Araújo, C. L., Silva, M. C. D., & Hallal, P. C. (2007). Tracking of physical activity from adolescence to adulthood: a population-based study. Revista de saude publica, 41, 69-75.
Bandura, A. (2004). Health Promotion by Social Cognitive Means. Health Educ Behav. 31(2),143-164.
Barr‐Anderson, D. J., Adams‐Wynn, A. W., DiSantis, K. I., & Kumanyika, S. (2013). Family‐focused physical activity, diet and obesity interventions in a frican–A merican girls: a systematic review. Obesity Reviews, 14(1), 29-51.
Beyens, I., & Nathanson, A. I. (2018). Electronic media use and sleep among preschoolers: evidence for time-shifted and less consolidated sleep. Health communication, 34(5), 537-544.
Beyens, I., Valkenburg, P. M., & Piotrowski, J. T. (2018). Screen media use and ADHD-related behaviors: Four decades of research. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences115(40), 9875-9881.
Birken, C. S., Maguire, J., Mekky, M., Manlhiot, C., Beck, C. E., DeGroot, J., ... & Parkin, P. C. (2012). Office-based randomized controlled trial to reduce screen time in preschool children. Pediatrics130(6), 1110-1115.     
Bordelon, A. E., Bradley, R. L. (2019). Family Inclusion.  Handbook of Interdisciplinary Treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorder: London: Springer. p. 445-63.
Byeon, H., & Hong, S. (2015). Relationship between Television Viewing and Language Delay in Toddlers: Evidence from a Korea National Cross Sectional Survey. PLoS ONE, 10(3), 1-12.
Canadian Paediatric Society. (2017). Digital Health Task Force; Ottawa; Ontario. Screen time and young children: Promoting health and development in a digital world. Paediatr Child Healt, 22(8), 461–468.
Carrel, A. L., Clark, R. R., Peterson, S. E., Nemeth, B. A., Sullivan, J., & Allen, D. B. (2005). Improvement of fitness, body composition, and insulin sensitivity in overweight children in a school-based exercise program: a randomized, controlled study. Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine, 159(10), 963-968.
Chung, G., Lanier, P., & Wong, P. Y. J. (2020). Mediating effects of parental stress on harsh parenting and parent-child relationship during coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Singapore. Journal of family violence, 1-12.
Cooley, M. E., Veldorale-Griffin, A., Petren, R. E., & Mullis, A. K. (2014). Parent–Child Interaction Therapy: A meta-analysis of child behavior outcomes and parent stress. Journal of Family Social Work, 17(3), 191-208.
Dennison, B. A., Russo, T. J., Burdick, P. A., & Jenkins, P. L. (2004). An intervention to reduce television viewing by preschool children. Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine, 158(2), 170-176.
Downs, S. H., & Black, N. (1998).  The feasibility of creating a checklist for the assessment of the methodological quality both of randomised and non-randomised studies of health care interventions. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. 52(6), 377-84.
Epstein, L. H., Roemmich, J. N., Robinson, J. L., Paluch, R. A., Winiewicz, D. D., Fuerch, J. H., & Robinson, T. N. (2008). A randomized trial of the effects of reducing television viewing and computer use on body mass index in young children. Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine, 162(3), 239-245.
Erickson, L. B., Wisniewski, P., Xu, H., Carroll, J. M., Rosson, M. B., & Perkins, D. F. (2016). The boundaries between: Parental involvement in a teen's online world. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology67(6), 1384-1403.
Escobar‐Chaves, S. L., Markham, C. M., Addy, R. C., Greisinger, A., Murray, N. G., & Brehm, B. (2010). The Fun Families Study: intervention to reduce children's TV viewing. Obesity, 18(S1), S99-S101.
Eyimaya, A. O., & Irmak, A. Y. (2021). Relationship between parenting practices and children's screen time during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkey. Journal of pediatric nursing56, 24-29.
Fitzpatrick, C., Oghia, M.J., Melki, J. & Pagani, L.S. (2016). Early childhood exposure to media violence: What parents and policymakers ought to know. South African Journal of Childhood Education, 6(1), 1-6.
Foley, L., Mhurchu, C. N., Marsh, S., Epstein, L. H., Olds, T., Dewes, O., ... & Maddison, R. (2016). Screen Time Weight-loss Intervention Targeting Children at Home (SWITCH): process evaluation of a randomised controlled trial intervention. BMC Public Health16(1), 439.
Ford, B. S., McDonald, T. E., Owens, A. S., & Robinson, T. N. (2002). Primary care interventions to reduce television viewing in African-American children. American journal of preventive medicine22(2), 106-109.
Friedrich, R. R., Polet, J. P., Schuch, I., & Wagner, M. B. (2014). Effect of intervention programs in schools to reduce screen time: a meta-analysis. Jornal de Pediatria (Versão em Português), 90(3), 232-241.
Garriguet, D., Colley, R., & Bushnik, T. (2017). Parent-child association in physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Health Rep, 28(6), 3-11.
Goncalves, W. S. F., Byrne, R., Viana, M. T., & Trost, S. G. (2019). Parental influences on screen time and weight status among preschool children from Brazil: a cross-sectional study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity16(1), 1-8.
Gruber, K. J., & Haldeman, L. A. (2009). Peer reviewed: Using the family to combat childhood and adult obesity. Preventing chronic disease, 6(3), 1-10.
Harrison, M., Burns, C. F., McGuinness, M., Heslin, J., & Murphy, N. M. (2006). Influence of a health education intervention on physical activity and screen time in primary school children:‘Switch Off–Get Active’. Journal of science and medicine in sport9(5), 388-394.
Hartshorne, J. K., Huang, Y. T., Paredes, P. M. L., Oppenheimer, K., Robbins, P. T., & Velasco, M. D. (2021). Screen time as an index of family distress. Current Research in Behavioral Sciences, 2, 1-10.
Hinkley, T., Cliff, D. P., & Okely, A. D. (2015). Reducing electronic media use in 2–3 year-old children: feasibility and efficacy of the Family@ play pilot randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health, 15(1), 779.
Hirsh-Yechezkel, G., Mandelzweig, L., Novikov, I., Bar-Yosef, N., Livneh, I., Oren, M., ... & Sadetzki, S. (2019). Mobile phone-use habits among adolescents: Predictors of intensive use. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking22(3), 212-219.
Huber, B., Yeates, M., Meyer, D., Fleckhammer, L., & Kaufman, J. (2018). The effects of screen media content on young children’s executive functioning. Journal of experimental child psychology170, 72-85.
Hutton, J. S., Dudley, J., Horowitz-Kraus, T., DeWitt, T., & Holland, S. K. (2020). Associations between screen-based media use and brain white matter integrity in preschool-aged children. JAMA pediatrics174(1), e193869-e193869.
Joussemet, M., Mageau, G. A., & Koestner, R. (2014). Promoting optimal parenting and children’s mental health: A preliminary evaluation of the how-to parenting program. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 23(6), 949–964.
Kildare, C. A., & Middlemiss, W. (2017). Impact of parents mobile device use on parent-child interaction: A literature review. Computers in Human Behavior75, 579-593.  
Knowlden, A. P., & Sharma, M. (2012). Systematic review of family and home‐based interventions targeting paediatric overweight and obesity. Obesity Reviews, 13(6), 499-508.
Lan, Q. Y., Chan, K. C., Kwan, N. Y., Chan, N. Y., Wing, Y. K., Li, A. M., & Au, C. T. (2020). Sleep duration in preschool children and impact of screen time. Sleep Medicine76, 48-54.
Lillard, A. S., Li, H., & Boguszewski, K. (2015). Television and children's executive function. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 48, 219-248.
Lin, H. P., Chen, K. L., Chou, W., Yuan, K. S., Yen, S. Y., Chen, Y. S., & Chow, J. C. (2020). Prolonged touch screen device usage is associated with emotional and behavioral problems, but not language delay, in toddlers. Infant Behavior and Development58, 101424.
Linden, C., Ahlborg, H. G., Besjakov, J., Gardsell, P., & Karlsson, M. K. (2006). A School Curriculum–Based Exercise Program Increases Bone Mineral Accrual and Bone Size in Prepubertal Girls: Two‐Year Data from the Pediatric Osteoporosis Prevention (POP) Study. Journal of bone and mineral research, 21(6), 829-835.
Lissak, G. (2018). Adverse physiological and psychological effects of screen time on children and adolescents: literature review and case study. Environmental Research, 164,149–157.
MacGowan, T. L., & Schmidt, L. A. (2021). Preschoolers' Social Cognitive Development in the Age of Screen Time Ubiquity. Cyber psychology, Behavior, and Social Networking24(2), 141-144.
Maniccia, D. M., Davison, K. K., Marshall, S. J., Manganello, J. A., & Dennison, B. A. (2011). A meta-analysis of interventions that target children's screen time for reduction. Pediatrics128(1), e193-e210.
McMath, A., Khan, N., Fiese, B., & Donovan, S. (2020). Screen Time is Related to Dietary Intake in Children at 24-Months-of-Age. Current Developments in Nutrition4, 1035-1035.
Mendelsohn, A. L., Dreyer, B. P., Brockmeyer, C. A., Berkule-Silberman, S. B., Huberman, H. S., & Tomopoulos, S. (2011). Randomized controlled trial of primary care pediatric parenting programs: effect on reduced media exposure in infants, mediated through enhanced parent-child interaction. Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine165(1), 42-48.
Mendoza, J. A., Baranowski, T., Jaramillo, S., Fesinmeyer, M. D., Haaland, W., Thompson, D., & Nicklas, T. A. (2016). Fit 5 kids TV reduction program for Latino preschoolers: a cluster randomized controlled trial. American journal of preventive medicine50(5), 584-592.
Mhurchu, C. N., Roberts, V., Maddison, R., Dorey, E., Jiang, Y., Jull, A., & Tin, S. T. (2009). Effect of electronic time monitors on children's television watching: pilot trial of a home-based intervention. Preventive medicine49(5), 413-417.
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., & Altman, D. G. (2009). PRISMA Group. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. PLoS Med. 6(7):e1000097
Neely, J. A., Hudnut-Beumler, J., Webb, M. W., Chavis, A., Dietrich, M. S., Bickman, L., & Scholer, S. J. (2013). The effect of primary care interventions on children's media viewing habits and exposure to violence. Academic pediatrics13(6), 531-539.
Nikken, P., & De Haan, J. (2015). Guiding young children’s internet use at home: Problems that parents experience in their parental mediation and the need for parenting support. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace9(1).
Oflu, A., Tezol, O., Yalcin, S., Professorc, D. Y., Caylan, N., Ozdemir, D. F., ... & Nergiz, M. E. (2021). Excessive screen time is associated with emotional lability in preschool children. Arch Argent Pediatr, 119(2), 106-113.
Oliver, C. S. (2017). A Review of the Relationship between Screen Time and Low Levels of Physical Activity with Obesity and Sedentary Behaviors in Children and Adolescents. Master thesis in Public Health, Georgia State University.
Özyurt, G., Dinsever, Ç., Çalişkan, Z., & Evgin, D. (2018). Effects of Triple P on Digital Technological Device Use in Preschool Children. Journal of Child and Family Studies27(1), 280-289.
Radesky, J. S., Eisenberg, S., Kistin, C. J., Gross, J., Block, G., Zuckerman, B., & Silverstein, M. (2016). Overstimulated consumers or next-generation learners? Parent tensions about child mobile technology use. Annals of Family Medicine, 14(6), 503–508.
Reid Chassiakos, Y. L., Radesky, J., Christakis, D., Moreno, M. A., & Cross, C. (2016). Council on Communications and Media. Children and adolescents and digital media. Pediatrics, 138(5), 1-18.
Robinson, T. N., & Borzekowski, D. L. (2006). Effects of the SMART classroom curriculum to reduce child and family screen time. Journal of Communication56(1), 1-26.
Robinson, T. N., Banda, J. A., Hale, L., Lu, A. S., Fleming-Milici, F., Calvert, S. L., & Wartella, E. (2017). Screen media exposure and obesity in children and adolescents. Pediatrics, 140, S97-S101.
Sadeghi, S., Pouretemad, H.R., Khosrowabadi, R., Fathabadi, J., & Nikbakht, S. (2019a). Effects of parent–child interaction training on children who are excessively exposed to digital devices: A pilot study. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine. 54(6),408-423.
Sadeghi, S., Pouretemad, H.R., Khosrowabadi, R., Fathabadi, J., & Nikbakht, S. (2019b). Behavioral and electrophysiological evidence for parent training in young children with autism symptoms and excessive screen-time. Asian journal of psychiatry, 45,7-12.
Sadeghi, S., Pouretemad, H.R., Khosrowabadi, R., Fathabadi, J., & Nikbakht, S. (2021). Parent–child interaction effects on autism symptoms and EEG relative power in young children with excessive screen-time. Early Child Development and Care. 1-10.
Salmon, J., Ball, K., Hume, C., Booth, M., & Crawford, D. (2008). Outcomes of a group-randomized trial to prevent excess weight gain, reduce screen behaviors and promote physical activity in 10-year-old children: switch-play. International journal of obesity32(4), 601-612.      
Salmon, J., Jorna, M., Hume, C., Arundell, L., Chahine, N., Tienstra, M., & Crawford, D. (2011). A translational research intervention to reduce screen behaviors and promote physical activity among children: Switch-2-Activity. Health Promotion International26(3), 311-321.
Salmon, J., Timperio, A., Telford, A., Carver, A., & Crawford, D. (2005). Association of family environment with children's television viewing and with low level of physical activity. Obesity research, 13(11), 1939-1951.
Sanders, M. R., & Turner, K. M. (2005). Reflections on the challenges of effective dissemination of behavioral family intervention: Our experience with the triple P–positive parenting program. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 10(4), 158–169.
Sanders, M. R., Ralph, A., Sofronoff, K., Gardiner, P., Thompson, R., Dwyer, S., & Bidwell, K. (2008). Every family: A population approach to reducing behavioral and emotional problems in children making the transition to school. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 29(3), 197–222.
Sanders, W., Parent, J., Forehand, R., & Breslend, N. L. (2016). The roles of general and technology-related parenting in managing youth screen time. Journal of Family Psychology30(5), 641.
Scaglioni, S., De Cosmi, V., Ciappolino, V., Parazzini, F., Brambilla, P., & Agostoni, C. (2018). Factors influencing children’s eating behaviours. Nutrients10(6), 706.
Schmidt, M. E., Haines, J., O’Brien, A., McDonald, A., Price, S., Sherry, B., & Taveras, E. M. (2012). Systematic review of effective strategies for reducing screen time among young children. Obesity, 20(7), 1338–1354. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2011.348
Shalani, B., Azadfallah, P., & Farahani, H. (2021). Correlates of Screen Time in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review Study. Journal of Modern Rehabilitation, 15(4),187-208.
Shanthi, M. M., Kanniammal, C., & Mahindra, J. (2017). Habit of television viewing and its impact on weight status and behavior among school children. International Education and Research Journal3(8), 9-12.
Shin, E., Choi, K., Resor, J., & Smith, C. L. (2021). Why do parents use screen media with toddlers? The role of child temperament and parenting stress in early screen use. Infant Behavior and Development64, 101595.
Soubhi, H., Potvin, L., & Paradis, G. (2004). Family process and parent's leisure time physical activity. American journal of health behavior, 28(3), 218-230.
Sourtiji, H., Hosseini, S. A., Rassafiani, M., & Kohan, A., Noroozi M., & Motlagh, M. E. (2019). The Associations between Screen Time and Sleep Duration, and Body Mass Index (BMI) in under Five-Year-Old Children. Archives of Neuroscience, 6(1), 1-7.
Stiglic, N., & Viner, R. M. (2019). Effects of screen time on the health and well-being of children and adolescents: a systematic review of reviews. BMJ open, 9(1), 1-15.
Takeuchi, H., Taki, Y., Hashizume, H., Asano, K., Asano, M., Sassa, Y., ... & Kawashima, R. (2015). The impact of television viewing on brain structures: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Cerebral Cortex, 25(5), 1188-1197.
Totland, T. H., Bjelland, M., Lien, N., Bergh, I. H., Gebremariam, M. K., Grydeland, M., ... & Andersen, L. F. (2013). Adolescents’ prospective screen time by gender and parental education, the mediation of parental influences. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity10(1), 1-10.
Van Lippevelde, W., Bere, E., Verloigne, M., van Stralen, M. M., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., Lien, N., ... & Maes, L. (2014). The role of family-related factors in the effects of the UP4FUN school-based family-focused intervention targeting screen time in 10-to 12-year-old children: the ENERGY project. BMC Public Health14(1), 1-12.
Van Lippevelde, W., Bere, E., Verloigne, M., van Stralen, M. M., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., Lien, N., ... & ChinAPaw, M. J. (2014). The role of family-related factors in the effects of the UP4FUN school-based family-focused intervention targeting screen time in 10-to 12-year-old children: the ENERGY project. BMC Public Health14(1), 857.
Wahi, G., Parkin, P. C., Beyene, J., Uleryk, E. M., & Birken, C. S. (2011). Effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing screen time in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine, 165(11), 979-86.
Wartella, E., Rideout, V., Lauricella, A. R., & Connell, S, L. (2014). Parenting in the age of digital technology. Center on Media and Human Development School of Communication Chicago, Northwestern University Press, 1-48.
Wu, L., Sun, S., He, Y., & Jiang, B. (2016). The effect of interventions targeting screen time reduction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine95(27).
Xie, G., Deng, Q., Cao, J., & Chang, Q. (2020). Digital screen time and its effect on preschoolers’ behavior in China: results from a cross-sectional study. Italian journal of pediatrics46(1), 9.
Xu, H., Wen, L. M., & Rissel, C. (2015). Associations of parental influences with physical activity and screen time among young children: a systematic review. Journal of obesityhttps://doi.org/10.1155/2015/546925.
Yilmaz, G., Demirli Caylan, N., & Karacan, C. D. (2015). An intervention to preschool children for reducing screen time: a randomized controlled trial. Child: care, health and development41(3), 443-449.