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A team of psychologists and mental health experts from multiple institutions in Denmark, working with colleagues in the UK, found that simply reducing children’s screen time to three hours a week could significantly improve their mental health.
In the paper, Published In the journal JAMA Network OpenThe group: Randomized clinical trial 89 families involved and impacted by cuts Screening time On electronic devices.
Previous studies have shown that children who watch movies and videos, play games, and use electronic devices for long periods of time: Social media Or playing video games, which tends to lead to mental health problems such as antisocial behavior and difficulty regulating emotions.
Some experts say these findings could become a problem if they become endemic. Previous studies suggest that Danish children spend an average of seven to eight hours a day using personal electronic devices. The statistics suggest that most kids go to school and do little else but play on their phones, laptops and computers.
In the new study, the team wanted to know whether cutting back on such activity would improve mental health, and if so, how quickly. To find out, they conducted a clinical trial with 89 families, including 181 children, from 10 cities in Denmark.
The trial used the Strengths and Difficulties Utilization Questionnaire with all children who took part in the study to find out more about their social skills, general behaviour, emotional stability and overall behaviour. mental health.
The researchers then asked all 45 children in the households to limit their electronic device use to three hours per week (excluding school) for two weeks, with video monitors installed in participants’ homes to ensure compliance.
All children were then asked to fill out the same questionnaire again to see if there were any differences.
The research team: The kidsof Social skillsThese include reducing behavioral and emotional issues to deal with.
For more information:
Jesper Schmidt-Persson et al. “Screen Media Use and the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents” JAMA Network Open (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.19881
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Quote: Study finds reducing children’s screen time to three hours per week improves mental health (July 18, 2024) Retrieved July 19, 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-07-children-screen-hours-week-mental.html
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