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Short-term reduction in leisure-time screen media use within families positively affects psychological symptoms in children and adolescents, according to a study published online July 12 in JAMA Network Open.
Jesper Schmidt-Persson, Ph.D., from the Centre of Research in Childhood Health at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, and colleagues investigated the effects of a two-week screen media reduction intervention on children’s and adolescents’ mental health. Analysis included 181 children and adolescents from 89 participating families.
The researchers found that there was a statistically significant mean difference in the total difficulties score, favoring the screen media reduction intervention (−1.67; Cohen d, 0.53). The greatest benefits were seen for internalizing symptoms (emotional symptoms and peer problems; between-group mean difference, −1.03) and prosocial behavior (between-group mean difference, 0.84).
“Future research should explore the potential differential effects of various types of screen media use and look deeper into whether collective family participation in such interventions is a pivotal component for observed benefits,” the authors write. “Moreover, more research is needed to confirm whether these effects are sustainable in the long term.”
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