The relationship between behavioral problems and screen time in children during COVID-19 school closures in Japan
and | Jan 12, 2022
About this article
Article Category: Research Article
Published Online: Jan 12, 2022
Page range: 1 - 8
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/sjcapp-2022-001
Keywords
© 2022 Chika Ueno, Shuichi Yamamoto, published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Characteristics of children with behavioral problems during school closure
| Children with behavioral problems during school closure (n = 482) | Children without behavioral problems during school closure (n= 477) | With problems vs. Without problems |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | ||||||
| 253/482 | 229/482 | 231/477 | 246/477 | 0.220 † | ||
| 1 | 83 | 94 | ||||
| 2 | 85 | 79 | ||||
| Grade | 3 | 85 | 79 | 0.675 † | ||
| 4 | 79 | 65 | ||||
| 5 | 66 | 76 | ||||
| 6 | 84 | 84 | ||||
| Mean duration of watching | ||||||
| 3.3 h (1.9) | 2.8 h (1.8) | < .001 ǂ | ||||
| TV/video (SD) | ||||||
| Mean duration of playing | 2.1 h (1.9) | 1.4 h (1.6) | < .001 ǂ | |||
| video games (SD) | ||||||
| Total screen time (SD) | 5.4 h (2.7) | 4.2 h (2.5) | < .001 ǂ | |||
| Mean sleep duration (SD) | 9.4 h (0.9) | 9.4 h (0.8) | 0.653 ǂ | |||
| Mean wakeup time (SD) | 7:28 (1.0 h) | 7:21 (1.0 h) | 0.109 ǂ | |||
| Mean bedtime (SD) | 21:54 (1.2 h) | 21:54 (0.9 h) | 0.357 ǂ | |||
| Bodyweight gain during school closure | 105/482 | 56/477 | < .001 † | |||
Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of exhibiting behavioral problems during school closure
| Crude | Adjusted | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | OR | 95% CI | OR | 95% CI | ||
| Time spent watching TV/video | 1.1 | 1.07 - 1.22 | < .001 | 1.2 | 1.07-1.24 | < .001 |
| Time spent playing video games | 1.3 | 1.2 - 1.4 | < .001 | 1.3 | 1.18 - 1.41 | < .001 |
| Total screen time | 1.2 | 1.14 - 1.28 | < .001 | 1.2 | 1.14 - 1.28 | < .001 |
| Bodyweight gain | 2.1 | 1.47 - 2.98 | < .001 | 2.0 | 1.43 - 2.92 | < .001 |
Frequency of children with behavioral problems during school closures and after schools reopened
| During school closures | After schools reopened | During vs. after | |
|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | ||
| Children with at least one of the following problems: | 482 (50.3) | 364 (38.0) | < .001 |
| Irritability | 186 (19.3) | 152 (15.8) | < .001 |
| Inability to stop playing video games | 260 (27.1) | 158 (16.5) | < .001 |
| Frequent fights with siblings | 265 (27.6) | 189 (19.7) | < .001 |
| Excessive dependence on parents | 73 (7.6) | 72 (7.5) | .93 |
| Refusal to sleep independently | 14 (1.5) | 18 (2.5) | < .001 |
Characteristics of children with experiencing bodyweight gain
| Children with bodyweight gain (n = 161) | Children no bodyweight gain (n= 798) | With bodyweight gain vs. no bodyweight gain |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | 79/161 | 82/161 | 405/798 | 393/798 | 0.730 † | |
| 1 | 83 | 94 | ||||
| 2 | 85 | 79 | ||||
| Grade | 3 | 85 | 79 | 0.675† | ||
| 4 | 79 | 65 | ||||
| 5 | 66 | 76 | ||||
| 6 | 84 | 84 | ||||
| Mean duration of watching TV/video (SD) | 3.6 h (2.3) | 2.9 h (1.8) | < .001 ǂ | |||
| Mean duration of playing video games (SD) | 1.9 h (2.0) | 1.7 h (1.7) | < .674 ǂ | |||
| Total screen time (SD) | 5.2 h (3.0) | 4.7 h (2.5) | < .001 ǂ | |||
| Mean sleep duration (SD) | 9.5 h (0.8) | 9.4 h (0.8) | 0.234 ǂ | |||
| Mean wakeup time (SD) | 7:28 (1.0 h) | 7:21 (1.0 h) | 0.402 ǂ | |||
| Mean bedtime (SD) | 21:54 (0.9 h) | 21:54 (0.9 h) | 0.490 ǂ | |||
| Bodyweight gain during school closure | 105/161 | 377/798 | < .001 † | |||
Odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals of children experiencing body weight gain during school closure
| Crude | Adjusted | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | OR | 95% CI | OR | 95% CI | ||
| Time spent watching TV/video | 1.2 | 1.10 - 1.30 | < .001 | 1.2 | 1.08 - 1.28 | < .001 |
| Time spent playing video games | 1.1 | 0.96 - 1.15 | 0.317 | 1.0 | 0.91 - 1.12 | 0.845 |
| Total screen time | 1.1 | 1.05 - 1.19 | < .001 | 1.1 | 1.02 - 1.16 | < .001 |
| Behavioral problems | 2.1 | 1.47 - 2.98 | < .001 | 2.0 | 1.43 - 2.92 | < .001 |