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Updated: Sep 9, 2025

Comparing Eye-tracking Data of Children with High-functioning ASD, Comorbid ADHD, and of a Control Watching Social Videos
Published on: December 7, 2018
The effects of tv/video viewing hours on later ADHD symptoms: a counterfactual analysis in longitudinal
Aja Murray1, Hannah Casey2,3, Helen Wright2,4
1Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, Edinburgh, UK. aja.murray@ed.ac.uk.
Background:
It has been proposed that early-life screen use can impact the development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Some studies have supported a weak association between higher levels of screen time and ADHD symptoms; however, this association is vulnerable to confounding and a causal explanation remains controversial.
Methods:
To help address confounding in this association, we conducted inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analyses in a large UK-representative longitudinal sample to examine the impact of TV/video viewing at age 3 on ADHD symptoms at age 5.
Results:
Adjusting for confounding, we found that both no TV/video viewing and viewing more than 3 h of TV/video compared to between 1 and 3 h were associated with increased ADHD symptoms. However, the effect of no TV/video viewing was mirrored in a negative outcome control analysis, suggesting potential residual confounding.
Conclusions:
Results are consistent with claims that high levels of TV/video viewing in preschool years may impact the development of ADHD symptoms. Trial-based research which examines the impact of reducing high levels of TV/video viewing in this age group would be merited to further illuminate this association and assess whether it is likely to reflect a causal effect.
Clinical Trial Number:
Not applicable.
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