Family Stress Linked to Problematic Child Media Use During Pandemic

TUESDAY, Aug. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- There was an association for family stressors with problematic child media use during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published online Aug. 2 in Pediatrics.
Emily Kroshus, Sc.D., M.P.H., from the Seattle Children's Research Institute, and colleagues conducted a nationally representative survey of 1,000 U.S. parents with at least one child aged 6 to 17 years in October to November 2020 to examine problematic child media use during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The researchers found that in families where parents were employed full time, present in the home (e.g., working from home), had low levels of formal educational attainment, and were experiencing more psychological distress, problematic use was greater. A small decline was seen in the number of media-related rules implemented during the pandemic (fewer parents enforced screen limits or limited screen use at mealtimes) but no association was seen between implementation of rules and problematic media use.
"Family stressors, but not media rules, were associated with more problematic media use among school-aged children during the COVID-19 pandemic," the authors write. "Harm reduction efforts related to problematic media use should consider the inequitable stressors to which families are exposed and how these impact the ways in which media is used by families to support functioning."
Was this page helpful?
Related Posts
Cutbacks on Opioids Around Surgery May Do More Harm Than Good
TUESDAY, June 20, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Many doctors have stopped giving...
First Synthetic Human Embryo Models Created in Lab
THURSDAY, June 15, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists say they have created the...
Targeted Therapies Seem Beneficial for Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Related Myotoxicity
THURSDAY, March 2, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- A strategy including identification...
Men With More Breakups, Years Lived Alone Have Higher Inflammation
THURSDAY, Jan. 13, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Partnership breakups or years lived...