Longitudinal associations between different types of screen use and depression and anxiety symptoms in adolescents

Fatima Mougharbel; Jean-Philippe Chaput; Hugues Sampasa-Kanyinga; Ian Colman; Scott T Leatherdale; Karen A Patte; Gary S Goldfield

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1101594

Longitudinal associations between different types of screen use and depression and anxiety symptoms in adolescents

Front Public Health. 2023 Apr 27:11:1101594. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1101594. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Fatima Mougharbel^{1

2}, Jean-Philippe Chaput^{2

3}, Hugues Sampasa-Kanyinga², Ian Colman^{3

4}, Scott T Leatherdale⁵, Karen A Patte⁶, Gary S Goldfield²

Affiliations

¹ School of Population Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
² Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
³ School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁴ Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
⁵ School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
⁶ Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada.

Abstract

Background: Evidence examining the longitudinal associations between different types of screen behaviours and mental health among adolescents is limited. The present study examined the association between five types of screen behaviours and symptoms of anxiety and depression one year later. This study also assessed how changes in screen time were associated with changes in anxiety and depressive symptoms and whether the observed relationships were moderated by sex.

Methods: Longitudinal data of 17,174 students in grades 9-12 (53.5% females; mean age: 15.1 ± 0.9 years) attending high schools in Canada from two waves (year 6: 2017/18, year 7: 2018/19) of the COMPASS study were analyzed. Leisure screen time and mental health measures were self-reported. To test if the associations between screen time and anxiety, and depression vary by sex, two-way interactions were examined for sex. Analyses accounted for school clustering, race/ethnicity, sex, age, income, body mass index z-score, and previous year anxiety and depression symptoms.

Results: There were significant longitudinal associations between time spent on each type of screen and subsequent anxiety and depression symptoms. The strength of the associations varied by type of screen behaviour. Interaction analysis indicated a sex difference for television viewing and anxiety and depression symptoms, and internet surfing and anxiety symptoms. A dose-response relationship was observed between phone talking and anxiety symptoms. Beta estimates indicated that an increase in screen duration was associated with a further increase in anxiety and depression symptoms.

Conclusion: Higher screen time was longitudinally associated with higher anxiety and depression symptoms at one-year follow-up in adolescents. Time-change associations between screen usage and depressive and anxiety symptoms were observed. Also, associations differed based on sex and screen type, whereby greater increases in screen use predicted greater emotional distress. Findings from this prospective analysis suggest that screen time is an important determinant of anxiety and depressive symptoms among adolescents. Future studies are recommended to help inform programs promoting screen time reduction with a goal to enhance adolescents' mental health.

Keywords: adolescents; anxiety; depression; public health; screen time.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Anxiety / epidemiology
Anxiety / psychology
Depression* / epidemiology
Depression* / psychology
Female
Humans
Male
Mental Health
Self Report
Sports*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

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