Cutting Screen Use Boosts Mental Health in Children, Teens

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay.

Short-term reduction in leisure-time screen media use within families positively affects psychological symptoms in children and adolescents, according to a study published online in JAMA Network Open.

Jesper Schmidt-Persson, Ph.D., from the Centre of Research in Childhood Health at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, and colleagues investigated the effects of a two-week screen media reduction intervention on children’s and adolescents’ mental health. Analysis included 181 children and adolescents from 89 participating families.

The researchers found that there was a statistically significant mean difference in the total difficulties score, favoring the screen media reduction intervention. The greatest benefits were seen for internalizing symptoms (emotional symptoms and peer problems; between-group mean difference) and prosocial behavior (between-group mean difference).

“Future research should explore the potential differential effects of various types of screen media use and look deeper into whether collective family participation in such interventions is a pivotal component for observed benefits,” the authors write.

Source: HealthDay
https://www.healthday.com/healthpro-news/mental-health/cutting-screen-use-boosts-mental-health-in-children-teens