by Bob Yirka , Medical Xpress

Credit: Pexels

A team of psychologists and mental health specialists affiliated with several institutions in Denmark, working with a colleague from the U.K., has found that reducing screen time for children to just three hours per week can result in significant improvements in their mental health.

In the paper, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, the group describes how they conducted a randomized clinical trial involving 89 families and the impact of reducing screen time on electronic devices.

Prior research has suggested that children spending long stretches of time using electronic devices—whether to watch movies or video, engage in social media or play video games—tends to lead to mental health problems such as antisocial behavior and difficulties with handling emotions.

Such findings become problematic, some in the field have suggested, when it becomes endemic. Prior research has suggested that children in Denmark spend on average 7 to 8 hours using their personal electronic devices every day; a statistic that suggests that most children do little besides go to school and play on their phones, laptops or computers.

In this new study, the research team wondered if taking away such activities would improve mental health, and if so, how quickly might it come about. To find out, they conducted a clinical trial involving 89 families that included 181 children from 10 cities in Denmark.

The trial involved testing all the children in the study using the "Utilizing the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire" to learn more about their social skills, general behavior, emotional stability and overall mental health.

Next, they asked all the children in 45 of the families to restrict their use of electronic devices to just three hours per week (not including school usage), for two weeks—video monitors were installed in the homes of participants to ensure compliance.

Afterward, all the children were asked to fill out the same questionnaire again, to see if there were any differences.

The research team found what they describe as significant improvements in the children's social skills, including reductions in behavioral problems and in dealing with emotional issues.

More information: Jesper Schmidt-Persson et al, Screen Media Use and Mental Health of Children and Adolescents, JAMA Network Open (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.19881

Journal information: JAMA Network Open 

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