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Infant screen exposure links to toddlers' inhibition, but not other EF constructs: A propensity score study

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Ribner, Andrew D 
Devine, Rory T 
Hughes, Claire 

Abstract

Technology is pervasive in homes of families with young children, despite evidence for negative associations between infant exposure to screen‐based media and cognitive development that has led the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to discourage parents from exposing children under the age of 18 months to any kind of screen time (AAP, 2016). Here, we apply a propensity score matching approach to estimate relations between electronic screen‐based media use in infancy and executive function in early toddlerhood. In an international sample of 416 firstborn infants, parental report of regular exposure to screen‐based media at 4 months predicted poorer performance on a test of inhibition at 14 months, but was unrelated to either cognitive flexibility or working memory at 14 months. Results of this study are therefore consistent with the view that early exposure to screen‐based media adversely affects the development of executive function.

Description

Keywords

Computers, Handheld, Executive Function, Female, Humans, Infant, Inhibition, Psychological, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Memory, Propensity Score, Screen Time, Television, Temperament

Journal Title

Infancy

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1525-0008
1532-7078

Volume Title

Publisher

Wiley
Sponsorship
Economic and Social Research Council (ES/L016648/1)
Support for this research was provided by ESRC ES/L010648/1 to CH, NSF BCS‐1429152 to CB, and NWO 464‐13‐141 to JM.