More Screen Time, More Stress? Study Links Device Use to Teen Mental Health

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by News-Medical.

In a recent study published in JAMA Network Open, researchers investigated how lifestyle behaviors in children moving into adolescence can affect symptoms of stress and depression.

Their findings indicate that children who used mobile devices and reported greater screen time were more likely to experience depression and stress during adolescence, highlighting the importance of reducing device usage.

While most previous studies have focused on individual lifestyle behaviors, few considered the impact that these behaviors jointly can have on mental health in young people. Addressing this research gap can help identify the most important risk factors and, thus, the most effective interventions to promote mental well-being.

In this study, researchers examined the associations between multiple lifestyle behaviors, including diet quality, sleep, sedentary behavior, and physical activity in Finnish children over eight years old, and mental health symptoms faced by the same individuals in adolescence.

The data was obtained from an eight-year study that followed children into adolescence. Data were collected at baseline, after two years, and at the end of the study.

A physical activity questionnaire was used to collect information on the use of computers and mobile devices, time spent watching television, total screen time, physical activity (supervised, unsupervised, and overall), and participation in sports.

Additionally, participants were given wearable devices with sensors to assess the duration of sleep, sedentary time, and physical activity.

During the eight-year follow-up, the adolescents were asked questions to identify whether they were experiencing symptoms of depression. They also reported on their perceived levels of stress.

Of the 504 children included in the final sample, 51.8% were boys. Of these, 187 adolescents had complete data on their lifestyle behaviors (self-reported) in addition to the mental health assessment. In contrast, 170 had complete data on lifestyle behaviors measured through the wearable device.

On average, the participants reported spending two hours a day on physical exercise, while the device readings showed that 0.7 hours daily were spent in moderate-to-vigorous exercise.

On average, participants spent 4.7 hours a day using screens and slept approximately nine hours each night.

Individuals who reported higher mobile device use, computer use, and total screen time reported feeling higher levels of stress. Using mobile devices and spending more time on screens was also linked to experiencing more symptoms of depression.

Source: News-Medical
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20250219/More-screen-time-more-stress-Study-links-device-use-to-teen-mental-health.aspx