Objective: 

Screen time in early childhood has been associated with children's prosocial and behavioral skills; however, the directionality of this relationship is unclear. We aimed to determine the direction of the relationship between screen time, social skills, and nonsocial behavioral traits in young children.

Methods: 

This was a population-based, prospective cohort study with data across 5 time points. We examined the reciprocal relationships between caregiver-reported children's screen time at 12, 18, 24, 36, and 54 months and social behaviors collected using the Infant-Toddler Social-Emotional Assessment at 12 months; the Quantitative Checklist for Autism at 18, 24, and 36 months; and the Social Responsiveness Scale at 54 months. Cross-lagged path models were used for analysis.

Results: 

A multiple imputation data set and complete data from 229 participants were included in the analyses. Screen time at 12, 18, and 36 months predicted nonsocial behavioral traits at 54 months. Cross-lagged path models showed a clear direction from increased screen time at earlier time points to both poorer social skills and atypical behaviors at later time points (Akaike information criterion 18936.55, Bayesian information criterion 19210.73, root mean square error of approximation 0.037, and comparative fit index 0.943). Social skills or behavioral traits at a younger age did not predict later screen time at any of the time points.

Conclusion: 

Screen time in early childhood has lagged influences on social skills and nonsocial behaviors; the reverse relationship is not found. Close monitoring of social behaviors may be warranted in the setting of excessive screen time during early childhood.

中文翻译：

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屏幕时间暴露和幼儿的社会行为特征之间是否存在双向影响？

客观的： 

儿童早期的屏幕时间与儿童的亲社会和行为技能有关；但是，这种关系的方向性尚不清楚。我们旨在确定幼儿屏幕时间、社交技能和非社交行为特征之间关系的方向。

方法： 

这是一项基于人群的前瞻性队列研究，数据跨越 5 个时间点。我们检查了看护人报告的儿童在 12、18、24、36 和 54 个月时的屏幕时间与使用婴幼儿社会情绪评估在 12 个月时收集的社会行为之间的相互关系；18、24 和 36 个月时的自闭症定量检查表；和 54 个月时的社会反应量表。交叉滞后路径模型用于分析。

结果： 

分析中包括了来自 229 名参与者的多重插补数据集和完整数据。12、18 和 36 个月的筛查时间预测了 54 个月时的非社会行为特征。交叉滞后路径模型显示了一个明确的方向，从早期时间点的屏幕时间增加到后期时间点较差的社交技能和非典型行为（Akaike 信息标准 18936.55，贝叶斯信息标准 19210.73，均方根误差近似为 0.037，比较拟合指数 0.943）。年轻时的社交技能或行为特征并不能预测任何时间点的后期屏幕时间。

结论： 

儿童早期的屏幕时间对社交技能和非社交行为的影响滞后；没有找到反向关系。在儿童早期屏幕时间过长的情况下，可能需要密切监测社会行为。