Screen Time during COVID-19, a review of subjects from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study ®

• In Event: Children, Screens, and COVID-19: Early Findings from Longitudinal, Interdisciplinary, Multi-Institutional Studies

Abstract

In March 2020, the United States became substantially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to an upheaval in the economy and the lives of almost every family, and most U.S. schools physical closed to reduce spread. Many parents incurred changes in work, some services and support systems became disrupted, and case counts and death tolls surged. The multifaceted impact of this unprecedented event has the potential for lifelong effects on children. Youth exposure to disastrous events and ensuing disruptions have been associated with lasting adverse alterations in mood and cognition, but little work has examined how such changes in daily activities and, for some, increased stress may influence youth screen media use, for both academic and non-academic purposes.
The Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) study includes 11,880 diverse community youth across the United States who began participating in annual assessments on mental and physical health and development, life events, and screen time in 2016. To assess the impact of COVID-19 on these youth throughout the pandemic, ABCD COVID-19 rapid response surveys were sent to participants at all 21 ABCD sites (N=11,880, now ages 11-13; 63% White, 20% Latinx,16% Black, 12% more than one race, 2% Asian, <1% American Indian, <1% Pacific Islander; half female). These surveys were sent in May, June, and August, with two surveys to be collected in September and November 2020. Currently, ~9000 youth have completed one or more survey. Additionally, pre-pandemic you and parent data from the most recent annual assessment through January 2020 will be used from the 3.0 data release (https://nda.nih.gov/abcd) for comparison.
Using these data, we will address 2 questions: (1) Relative to baseline screen media use, how did COVID-19 change non-academic screen use in children? and (2) What are factors exacerbating or attenuating the effect of socially interactive screen time on social isolation and symptoms of depression or anxiety? While reasonable to assume children increased screen time during the pandemic, these analysis will allow us to demonstrate changes for individual children and examine underlying family and environment factors that that may differentiate outcomes. Using longitudinal mixed models, we will determine associations between screen time and subsequent stress and mental health problems, specifically evaluating screen time spent on interactive or social activities (e.g., social media, texting, video chatting and multi-player video games) in comparison to more passive or isolative screen media activities). This longitudinal examination of youths social screen time with level of perceived stress, self-reported mental health status, and relationship with friends over time can help identify effects types of screen behaviors that are risky and adaptive in the context of reduced face-to-face social interaction.

Authors

• Florence Breslin, Laureate Institute for Brain Research
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kara Kerr, Oklahoma State University - Stillwater
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kelly Cosgrove, Laureate Institute for Brain Research
  Non-Presenting Author

• Susan Tapert, University of California - San Diego
  Presenting Author