Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Mar;113(3):517-522.
doi: 10.1111/apa.17047. Epub 2023 Nov 28.

A longitudinal study of the relationship between children's exposure to screen media and vocabulary development

Annette Sundqvist  1 , Rachel Barr  2 , Mikael Heimann  1 , Ulrika Birberg-Thornberg  1   3 , Felix-Sebastian Koch  1
Affiliations
Free article

A longitudinal study of the relationship between children's exposure to screen media and vocabulary development

Annette Sundqvist et al. Acta Paediatr. 2024 Mar.
Free article

Abstract

Aim: This study addresses the scarcity of longitudinal research on the influence of screen media on children. It aims to explore the longitudinal relationship between children's vocabulary development and their exposure to screen media.

Methods: The study, initiated in 2017, included 72 children (37 boys) in Östergötland, Sweden, at three key developmental stages: preverbal (9.7 months), early verbal (25.5 months) and preliterate (5.4 years). Parents completed online surveys at each time point, reporting their child's screen time. At 10 months and 2 years, age-appropriate vocabulary assessments were conducted online. At age 5, children's vocabulary was laboratory assessed.

Results: Correlational analysis revealed a negative relationship between language scores and screen media use across all time points. Furthermore, a cross-lagged panel model demonstrated that screen media use showed significant continuity over time, with screen use at age 2 predicting language development at ages 2 and 5.

Conclusion: This longitudinal study, spanned from 9 months to 5 years of age, established a predictive negative association between children's exposure to screen media and their vocabulary development. These findings underscore the need to consider the impact of screen media on early childhood development and may inform guidelines for screen media use in young children.

Keywords: early childhood; language development; longitudinal study; screen media.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Swedish Media Council (SMC). Little Kids and Media. 2023. https://www.statensmedierad.se/rapporter-och-analyser/material-rapporter...
    1. Rideout V, Robb M. The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Kids Age Zero to Eight. San Fr CA Common Sense Media; 2020.
    1. Reid Chassiakos YL, Radesky J, Christakis D, Moreno MA, Cross C, Council on Communications and Media. Children and adolescents and digital media. Pediatrics. 2016;138(5):e20162593. doi:10.1542/peds.2016-2593
    1. Barr R, Linebarger D. Media Exposure during Infancy and Early Childhood. Springer; 2017.
    1. Radesky JS, Silverstein M, Zuckerman B, Christakis DA. Infant self-regulation and early childhood media exposure. Pediatrics. 2014;133(5):e1172-e1178. doi:10.1542/peds.2013-2367