Poster #57 - Sensory processing at 33 months as a function of early screen media exposure

• In Event: Poster Session 16

Abstract

Background: Screen media exposure (e.g., TV/tablet/smartphone use) has been associated with poorer developmental outcomes, including worse attention, language development, and Autism Spectrum Disorder symptoms (Heffler et al., 2020; Madigan et al., 2020; Santos et al., 2022). Screen exposure may directly affect neurodevelopment including sensory processing (Heffler & Oestreicher, 2016) or indirectly affect neurodevelopment as time spent sitting while attending to screens may displace other developmentally important sensory and motor experiences (Christakis et al., 2009; Pagani et al., 2013). The current study hypothesized that early screen exposure in the first two years of life would be associated with atypical sensory processing at age 33 months. This is the first study to our knowledge to examine the potential relationship between screen media exposure and children’s sensory processing.

Methods: Participants were 1471 children (50% male) enrolled at birth in the National Children’s Study. Parents reported children’s screen exposure at 12-, 18-, and 24-months and their playing with and walking with frequency with their child at 12-months; and sensory processing at 33-months (+2 months) on the Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile (ITSP; Dunn & Daniels, 2002), scored on a 5-point scale with lower scores indicating a relative under-sensitivity to sensory stimuli. Screen exposure was assessed by caregivers at 12-months from the item: “Does your child watch TV/DVDs?” (0=no, 1=yes) and at 18- and 24-months from the item: “Over the past 30 days, on average, how many hours per day did child watch TV and/or DVDs?” (0=none, 1=1 hr or less, 2=2 hrs, 3=3 hrs, 4=4 hrs, and 5=5 or more hrs). Child age, sex, ethnicity/race, caregiver education, family income, prematurity, and frequency of playing with and walking with caregivers at 12 months were included as covariates in a series of hierarchical linear regression models predicting each of the five sensory processing dimensions, with demographic variables entered in block 1 and exposure variables entered in block 2.

Results: Screen exposure at 12-, 18-, and 24-months was generally associated with lower responsivity to sensory stimuli at 33 months in bivariate relationships (see Table 1). Controlling for demographic and other exposure variables, 12-month screen exposure was associated with lower responsivity to auditory, visual, and tactile stimuli (see Table 2). 24-month screen exposure was associated with lower responsivity to auditory, vestibular, and oral-sensory stimuli. In contrast, 18-month screen exposure was only associated with oral-sensory processing.

Conclusions: Early screen exposure was associated with atypical sensory processing in seven of fifteen models. Prediction was most consistent for very early screen exposure (12 months) and for the most recent screen exposure assessment (24 months). Very early screen exposure was associated with lower responsivity to auditory and visual sensory stimuli, suggesting early audiovisual screen exposure may be a risk factor for atypical sensory neuroconnectivity. Overall, auditory processing and oral-sensory processing were most consistently associated with screen exposure. Future research is needed to replicate the current findings and to examine specific mechanisms by which early screen exposure may impact sensory development and sensory behavioral outcomes.

Authors

• David Bennett, Drexel University
  Presenting Author

• Keshab Subedi

• Karen Heffler