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. 2021 Nov:65:101644.
doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101644. Epub 2021 Sep 9.

Associations among average parental educational attainment, maternal stress, and infant screen exposure at 6 months of age

Cynthia A Wiltshire  1 , Sonya V Troller-Renfree  2 , Melissa A Giebler  2 , Kimberly G Noble  3
Affiliations

Associations among average parental educational attainment, maternal stress, and infant screen exposure at 6 months of age

Cynthia A Wiltshire et al. Infant Behav Dev. 2021 Nov.

Abstract

Evidence suggests that increased use of screens early in life may have negative developmental consequences for children. However, little is known concerning parental factors that predict initial screen exposure in infancy. The primary goal of this study was to examine whether parental educational attainment and maternal stress were associated with infant screen exposure by 6 months of age. A diverse sample of mothers (N = 93) was recruited prenatally. In a follow-up visit when the infants were six months of age (N = 82), we examined factors that may be associated with initial infant exposure to screens. First, mothers reported whether they had already exposed their infants to screens. Thereafter, those mothers who reported already having exposed their infants to screens were further queried to determine the extent of infant screen use. Results demonstrated that among infants exposed to screens, mothers reported an average of nearly 3 h of daily screen use. Average parental educational attainment, but not maternal stress, was significantly associated with initial infant exposure. Of those families who endorsed screen exposure by 6 months, 70 % reported a screen in the room where the child sleeps, nearly half reported using screens to help calm the infant, and about a third reported using a screen at least sometimes during meals, when going to sleep, and while waiting. Parental education around infant screen use behaviors may be important to help promote child development and outcomes.

Keywords: Infant screen time; Infant screen use; Maternal stress; Parental educational attainment.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations of interest: none

None of the authors has competing interests to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Average Parental Educational Attainment of Infants Not Exposed vs. Exposed to Screens by 6 Months of Age (N = 82). Note: Error bars show 95% confidence intervals.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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