Correlates of screen time among 8-19-year-old students in China

Previous studies have shown that prolonged time spent on screen-based sedentary behavior was significantly associated with lower health status in children, independent of physical activity levels. The study aimed to explore the individual and environmental correlates of screen time (ST) among 8-19-year-old students in China.

The study surveyed ST using a self-administered questionnaire in Chinese students aged 8-19 years; 1063 participants were included in the final analysis. Individual and environmental correlates of ST were assessed using a mixed-effects model (for continuous outcome variables) and multiple logistic regression model (for binary outcome variables).

Prolonged ST was observed in 14.7% of boys and 8.9% of girls. Of the ST, weekend and mobile phone/tablet use represented 80% and 40%, respectively. A positive relationship was observed between media accessibility and ST in both boys and girls (p < 0.05), whereas the presence of parents/others while using screens was a negative factor for longer ST (p < 0.05). Among the assessed correlates, access to a television (TV) in students' bedrooms was associated with prolonged total and weekend ST (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001, respectively). However, spending time on a mobile phone/tablet or a computer rather than viewing a TV, along with increased media accessibility, increased ST.

These results indicate that greater media accessibility was positively associated and the presence of parents/others was negatively associated with prolonged ST in both Chinese boys and girls. Development of new and effective strategies against prolonged ST are required, especially for small screen device-based ST on weekends.