scholarly journals Associations between Parental and Child Screen Time and Quality of the Home Environment: A Preliminary Investigation

Author(s):  
Parveen Attai ◽  
Jacqueline Szabat ◽  
Stephanie Anzman-Frasca ◽  
Kai Ling Kong

(1) Background: The recommendation for screen use among preschool-aged children is ≤ 1 h per day. We aimed to assess the relationship between parental and child screen use and home environment characteristics. (2) Methods: Thirty-six 3–to-4-year-old healthy children were recruited. Parents reported their own and their child’s weekday and weekend daytime screen use. The child’s home environment and parent-child interactions were assessed using the Infant-Toddler Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (IT-HOME). Analyses were run to identify relationships between parental and child screen use and the six subscales of the IT-HOME: Responsivity, Acceptance, Organization, Learning Materials, Involvement and Variety. (3) Results: Parents’ weekend screen use was correlated to parental responsivity and variety of people and events at home. These relationships remained significant after adjusting for maternal education and number of children at home (Responsivity β = 7.30 (95% CI: 1.75, 12.86), p = 0.012) and (Variety β = −2.45, (95% CI: −4.58, −0.31), p = 0.026). There was a trend level association between low child’s weekend screen use and high presence of learning materials. Other aspects of screen time were not associated with home environment characteristics. (4) Conclusions: Higher parental screen use predicted lower variety and greater parental responsivity, the latter of which was an unexpected finding. Administering the IT-HOME alongside a screen use questionnaire may offer the opportunity for a more comprehensive representation of home environments in today’s society. Future research can also clarify facets of parental screen use (e.g., co-viewing, timing) that are more vs. less likely to impact children.

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (S1) ◽  
pp. 39-40
Author(s):  
Amanda E. Staiano ◽  
Andrew T. Allen ◽  
E. Kipling Webster ◽  
Corby K. Martin

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that preschool-aged children spend no more than 2 hours/day using digital screens such as TVs. However, there is a proliferation of digital screens in children’s daily lives both at school and at home. The purpose of this study was to examine factors that contribute to children’s screen-time, including their demographic characteristics and whether or not they have screen-time at school. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: In total, 59 children (3.3±0.4 years of age; 47% female) enrolled in 3 child care centers participated. Center directors reported school screen-time; 1 center was classified as not providing screen-time and 2 centers were classified as providing screen-time. Parents reported child’s age, sex, and maternal education as a proxy for socio-economic status. Parents reported child’s out-of-school screen-time by responding to the question “During the past 30 days, on average how many hours per day did your child sit and watch TV or videos outside of school?” Additional questions queried how many hours per day did the child “use a computer or play computer games,” “play video games,” “use a smartphone,” and “use an iPad or tablet.” Children’s height and weight were collected using standard clinic procedures and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. T tests were used to examine differences in screen-time by age, sex, and school screen-time. General linear models were used to examine the influence of school screen-time (1=no screen-time, 0=between 1 and 60 min/day of screen-time), age, BMI, and maternal education on out-of-school screen-time and time spent with each device. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine likelihood of meeting screen-time recommendations based on the same characteristics. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Parent-reported total screen-time was 6.3±3.6 hours/day (h/d); specifically, 2.5±1.1 h/d watching TV, 1.5±2.2 h/d using a smartphone, 1.1±0.9 h/d using a tablet, 0.8±1.0 h/d on a computer, and 0.5±0.7 h/d playing video games. Based on total screen-time, 15% of children met AAP recommendations; based on TV viewing only, 52% met AAP recommendations. The 4-year-old children viewed more screen-time overall compared to the 3-year-old children including on TV, computer, and tablet (p<0.05), but there were no sex differences. In fully adjusted linear models, out-of-school screen-time was lower among those who had no screen-time at school (p=0.02) and higher among older children (p<0.01). Computer use was higher among older children (p=0.02). Older children and those with lower maternal education were less likely to meet clinical recommendations based on TV viewing (p<0.05). There were no observed associations with likelihood of meeting clinical recommendations based on total screen-time. BMI was not a significant predictor of screen-time. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: The majority of children exceeded AAP screen-time limits, with screen-time sharply higher among older children, and the associations did not vary by weight status. Children who attended schools that allowed screen-time had higher amounts of out-of-school screen-time. Pediatricians and healthcare providers should query parents on children’s screen-time practices at home and at school and offer strategies to help families meet the clinical recommendations.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorota Maria Jankowska ◽  
Joanna Maria Kwaśniewska ◽  
Izabela Lebuda ◽  
Eliza Maria Witkowska

This study investigates the link between mother’s and children’s (8 to 9 years of age) creative thinking, focusing in particular on how mothers’ creativity interacts with climate for creativity in the parent-child relationship in predicting the offspring’s creative potential assessed by the Test for Creative Thinking-Drawing Production (TCT-DP). The moderating role of the children’s gender in this relationship was also assessed. In a sample of parent-child dyads (N = 66), it was demonstrated that (a) mother’s and child’s creative thinking was related within dyads, (b) four dimensions of climate for creativity at home environment, namely Encouragement to Experience Novelty and Variety, Encouragement of Nonconformism, Support of Perseverance in Creative Efforts, and Encouragement to Fantasize partially mediated this relationship, and (c) child’s gender did not moderate the investigated relationship. Moreover, there were no differences in climate for creativity between girls and boys, except for the fact that mothers support nonconformism more strongly in their sons than in daughters. Results were discussed in light of potential family transmission mechanisms of creative potential. It was also indicated the study’s implications for practice and directions for future research that stem from this project.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 1310-1316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasia Bounova ◽  
Maria Michalopoulou ◽  
Nikolaos Agelousis ◽  
Thomas Kourtessis ◽  
Vassilios Gourgoulis

Background:Nowadays, the majority of adolescents exceed the AAP guidelines for screen use and this is likely to be a risk factor for obesity. The current study aims at investigating adolescent screen viewing in the context of home and neighborhood environment.Methods:A sample of 1141 adolescents as well as their parents participated in this survey. Adolescents were asked to complete a questionnaire about time spent on screen viewing behaviors. Respectively, parents completed a questionnaire concerning environmental predictors.Results:Almost two-thirds of the adolescents surveyed spend more than 2 hours per day on screen entertainment, with boys dealing with personal computers (PCs) and electronic games more than girls. The likelihood for an adolescent to exceed 2 hours of screen time is 3.87 times more when he has his meals in front of a TV screen on a daily basis, 1.69 times more when the TV is on, often as not on his return from school and 1.74 times more when there is a PC in the adolescent’s bedroom.Conclusion:Certain environmental predictors influence adolescents’ screen time, as a result, corrective intervention should aim at the family as a whole, as this whole shapes home environment.


2012 ◽  
Vol 487 ◽  
pp. 805-809
Author(s):  
Jun Ma ◽  
Dong Hua Guo

this thesis discusses the main testing technologies at home and abroad relating to the glass bead refractive index, analyses the research emphases relating to the glass bead refractive index testing technology at present and point out the future research trend.


Author(s):  
Han Shi Jocelyn Chew ◽  
Violeta Lopez

Objective: To provide an overview of what is known about the impact of COVID-19 on weight and weight-related behaviors. Methods: Systematic scoping review using the Arksey and O’Malley methodology. Results: A total of 19 out of 396 articles were included. All studies were conducted using online self-report surveys. The average age of respondents ranged from 19 to 47 years old, comprised of more females. Almost one-half and one-fifth of the respondents gained and lost weight during the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively. Among articles that examined weight, diet and physical activity changes concurrently, weight gain was reported alongside a 36.3% to 59.6% increase in total food consumption and a 67.4% to 61.4% decrease in physical activities. Weight gain predictors included female sex, middle-age, increased appetite, snacking after dinner, less physical exercise, sedentary behaviors of ≥6 h/day, low water consumption and less sleep at night. Included articles did not illustrate significant associations between alcohol consumption, screen time, education, place of living and employment status, although sedentary behaviors, including screen time, did increase significantly. Conclusions: Examining behavioral differences alone is insufficient in predicting weight status. Future research could examine differences in personality and coping mechanisms to design more personalized and effective weight management interventions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-113
Author(s):  
Farrah Neumann ◽  
Matthew Kanwit

AbstractSince many linguistic structures are variable (i. e. conveyed by multiple forms), building a second-language grammar critically involves developing sociolinguistic competence (Canale and Swain. 1980. Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics 1(1). 1–47), including knowledge of contexts in which to use one form over another (Bayley and Langman. 2004. Variation in the group and the individual: Evidence from second language acquisition. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 42(4). 303–318). Consequently, researchers interested in such competence have increasingly analyzed the study-abroad context to gauge learners’ ability to approximate local norms following a stay abroad, due to the quality and quantity of input to which learners may gain access (Lafford. 2006. The effects of study abroad vs. classroom contexts on Spanish SLA: Old assumptions, new insights and future research directions. In Carol Klee & Timothy Face (eds.), Selected proceedings of the 7th conference on the acquisition of Spanish and Portuguese as first and second languages, 1–25. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project). Nevertheless, the present study is the first to examine native or learner variation between imperative (e. g. ven ‘come’) and optative Spanish commands (e. g. que vengas ‘come’). We first performed a corpus analysis to determine the linguistic factors to manipulate in a contextualized task, which elicited commands from learners before and after four weeks abroad in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. Their overall rates of selection and predictive factors were compared to local native speakers (NSs) and a control group of at-home learners.Results revealed that the abroad learners more closely approached NS rates of selection following the stay abroad. Nonetheless, for both learner groups conditioning by independent variables only partially approximated the NS system, which was more complex than previously suggested.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. G. Sathiadas ◽  
Annieston Antonyraja ◽  
Arunath Viswalingam ◽  
Kasthuri Thangaraja ◽  
V. P. Wickramasinghe

Abstract Background Nutritional status is an important indicator for measuring quality of life in children. A region that is recovering from war will face many problems related to nutrition. Very few studies have addressed the nutritional problems in school children. This study was undertaken to identify the prevalence of wasting, stunting and obesity among school children from Northern Sri Lanka and associated socio-demographic factors. Methods A community based cross-sectional study was carried out using multistage stratified proportionate cluster among healthy children attending schools in the Northern part of the country. Height and weight were measured, and Body Mass Index (BMI) calculated [weight (kg)/Height (m) 2]. BMI-for-age z-score (BAZ) and Height for age Z (HAZ) scores were determined and WHO growth references were used to categorise the nutritional status. Correlation between various nutritional problems with Maternal education, household income, number of family members and the residential area was assessed. Results A total of 1012 children were recruited, and the mean age and standard deviation were 11.12±1.77 yrs. Girls in the age ranges of 9–14 were heavier and taller when compared to the boys compatible with the pubertal growth spurt. Stunting based on the height for age was seen in 10.9% of boys and 11.8% of girls. Wasting based on BMI for age WHO standard (WHO 2007) was seen in 30.6% of boys and 29.1% of the girls. The prevalence of overweight was 11% and Obesity was 6.3% of the population. Obesity was predominantly seen in boys (4.2%) and it was significantly higher when compared to the girls (2.1%) (p < 0.001). Obesity in older boys (> 10 years) was significantly more than the younger ones (p < 0.01). Maternal education and family income had a significant impact on the prevalence of wasting, stunting and obesity whereas the family size contributed to the wasting and obesity (p< 0.001). Conclusion Findings suggest that stunting, wasting, overweight and obesity are prevalent among 6–16-year-old leading to concerns in public health. The nutritional status significantly varies according to the geographical location, maternal education and the household income.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew David Williams ◽  
Dennis Hong

Abstract We introduce and define a new family of mobile robots called BAR (Buoyancy Assisted Robots) that are cheap, safe, and will never fall down. BARs utilize buoyancy from lighter-than-air gases as a way to support the weight of the robot for locomotion. A new BAR robot named BLAIR (Buoyant Legged Actuated Inverted Robot) whose buoyancy is greater than its weight is also presented in this paper. BLAIRs can walk “upside-down” on the ceiling, providing unique advantages that no other robot platforms can. Unlike other legged robots, the mechanics of how BARs walk is fundamentally different. We also perform a preliminary investigation for BARs. This includes comparing safety, cost, and energy consumption with other commercially available robots. Additionally, the preliminary investigation also includes analyzing previous works relating to BARs. A dynamical analysis is performed on the novel robot BLAIR. This is presented to show the impacts of buoyant and drag forces on BLAIRs. Preliminary analysis with the prevalence of drag is presented with simulations using a genetic algorithm and simulations. Results show that BARs with different mechanisms prefer different styles of walking gaits such as prancing or skipping. This work lays the foundation for future research work on the gaits for BARs.


1873 ◽  
Vol 18 (84) ◽  
pp. 482-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
James C. Howden

In the following observations I propose to describe a feature in the mental condition of Epileptics, which, to the best of my knowledge, has not attracted that attention to which its frequency entitles it. I refer to the exaltation of the religious sentiment. Irritability, suspicion, impulsive violence, egotism, strong homicidal propensities are among the most commonly observed characteristics in the insane epileptic; but in strange contradiction with these we very frequently find combined a strong devotional feeling, manifesting itself, it may be, in simple piety or in decided religious delusions. I do not pretend that the forms of religious insanity to be afterwards noticed are peculiar to epilepsy, but they are very frequently found in connection with it, and, I believe, I have only to describe a few illustrative cases to bring to your recollection numerous others which have occurred in your own experience. The causes which combine to develope a devotional frame of mind in Epileptics are probably numerous. In congenital cases or those arising from diseases of childhood education no doubt exercises a powerful influence. The epileptic child is necessarily less able to join in the amusements and occupations of healthy children, and a large share of his time and attention may be devoted at home to religious instruction. The mysterious nature of the disease, the consciousness of infirmity and helplessness developes a craving for sympathy in the epileptic which we rarely see in other lunatics. In the wards and airing-courts of our asylums, epileptics may be distinguished from their fellow-patients by the fact that they are generally found associating in little groups of twos or threes. They sympathize with each other, lean on each other for help in the time of trouble, and however much they exhibit violence and viciousness to others, they rarely attack each other. Along with this desire for sympathy, the epileptic is mercifully endowed with strong hope. He is always getting over his trouble, he thinks the turns are less severe, and will tell you perhaps the day before a fatal seizure that he thinks he will have no more fits. We all know how much hope has helped the physician in his efforts to combat this disease with a whole battery of drugs, each of which in its turn seems for a time to promise success, only too surely to fail in the end. This craving for sympathy finds a deep response in the highest development of hope—religion; and the sufferings of this life are assuaged by the assurance of sympathy and aid from heaven, and of a blessed future where suffering and sorrow are no more.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document