Temperament matters: Infant negative emotionality moderates the link between infant screen exposure and later...

Prolonged screen exposure in early childhood is linked to developmental challenges, particularly in executive functions (EF), which are critical for child adjustment. While infancy is recognized as a sensitive period of heightened brain plasticity and susceptibility to environmental influences, research on screen exposure during this time is limited, with most studies focusing on children over 2 years. Policymakers, recognizing the plasticity of the infant brain, have issued strict guidelines advocating for the complete avoidance of screen exposure for children under two; yet, approximately 75% of children in this age group exceed these recommendations. This underscores the need to better understand individual differences in screen-related risks to develop empirically informed, nuanced guidelines. Surprisingly, despite temperament being a key characteristic in infancy, shaping how infants respond to environmental inputs, its role in moderating the impact of screen exposure on regulatory development has not been studied. This study addresses these gaps by exploring temperamental negative emotionality (TNE) as a moderator between infant screen exposure and later EF difficulties. Eighty infants participated (57.5% males, all White, 73.3% monthly household income >3,400 U.S. dollars); TNE was assessed at 4 months, screen exposure at 10 months, and EF at 4 and 5.5 years. Results indicate that higher screen exposure in infancy predicts later EF difficulties but only for infants with average/high TNE. Our findings provide initial evidence suggesting the potential need to consider temperament-related individual differences when developing more nuanced, individualized guidelines for infant screen exposure. Such guidelines may enhance adherence and mitigate screen-related risks. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).