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Is increased screen time associated with the development of anxiety or depression in young people?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2020

J. Khouja ,
M. Munafò ,
K. Tilling ,
N. Wiles ,
C. Joinson ,
P. Etchells ,
A. John ,
S. Gage  and
R. Cornish
J. Khouja
Affiliation:
University of Bristol, School of Experimental Psychology, Bristol, United Kingdom
M. Munafò
Affiliation:
University of Bristol, School of Experimental Psychology, Bristol, United Kingdom
K. Tilling
Affiliation:
University of Bristol, School of Social and Community Medicine, Bristol, United Kingdom
N. Wiles
Affiliation:
University of Bristol, School of Social and Community Medicine, Bristol, United Kingdom
C. Joinson
Affiliation:
University of Bristol, School of Social and Community Medicine, Bristol, United Kingdom
P. Etchells
Affiliation:
Bath Spa University, School of Society- Enterprise and Environment, Bath, United Kingdom
A. John
Affiliation:
Swansea University Medical School, Farr Institute, Swansea, United Kingdom
S. Gage
Affiliation:
University of Bristol, School of Experimental Psychology, Bristol, United Kingdom
R. Cornish
Affiliation:
University of Bristol, School of Social and Community Medicine, Bristol, United Kingdom

Abstract

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Introduction

Emerging evidence suggests that sedentary behaviour, specifically time spent taking part in screen-based activities, such as watching television, may be associated with mental health outcomes in young people [1]. However, recent reviews have found limited and conflicting evidence for both anxiety and depression [2].

Objectives

The purpose of the study was to explore associations between screen time at age 16 years and anxiety and depression at 18.

Methods

Subjects (n = 1958) were from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a UK-based prospective cohort study. We assessed associations between screen time (measured via questionnaire at 16 years) and anxiety and depression (measured in a clinic at 18 years using the Revised Clinical Interview Schedule) using ordinal logistic regression, before and after adjustment for covariates (including sex, maternal education, family social class, parental conflict, bullying and maternal depression).

Results

After adjusting for potential confounders, we found no evidence for an association between screen time and anxiety (OR = 1.02; 95% CI 0.95–1.09). There was weak evidence that greater screen time was associated with a small increased risk of depression (OR = 1.05, 95% CI 0.98–1.13).

Conclusions

Our results suggest that young people who spend more time on screen-based activities may have a small increased risk of developing depression but not anxiety. Reducing youth screen time may lower the prevalence of depression. The study was limited by screen time being self-reported, a small sample size due to attrition and non-response, and the possibility of residual confounding. Reverse causation cannot be ruled out.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Type
e-Poster viewing: Cultural psychiatry
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 41 , Issue S1: Abstract of the 25th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2017 , pp. S530 - S531
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2017

References

PMID: 26303369.Google Scholar
PMID: 21807669.Google Scholar
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