ArticleChildren (Basel, Switzerland)2025
Early Screen Exposure and Preadolescent Outcomes: A Longitudinal Follow-Up on Dysregulation, Academic Achievements, and Capacity to Be Alone.
Article in Children (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- From problematic screen use to stress: psychological quality and academic burnout among 10- and 13-year-olds children.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrevious longitudinal evidence suggested that screen exposure at age 4 was associated with dysregulation symptoms and lower academic achievement up to age 8. Yet, it remains unclear whether these effects persist in preadolescence and extend to higher-order developmental outcomes such as the capacity to be alone, a marker of self-regulation and autonomy within the developmental psychopathology framework.
aimThis follow-up study re-contacted the original cohort at age 12 (T3) to examine whether early screen time predicted dysregulation, academic achievement, and capacity to be alone, testing the mediating role of dysregulation at ages 6 (T1) and 8 (T2), and the moderating role of maternal scaffolding at age 4.
methodsA community sample of N = 323 children and their mothers, previously assessed at T0-T2, was re-evaluated at T3 (mean age = 12.2 years, SD = 0.7). At T0, screen exposure and maternal scaffolding were measured using the StimQ (PIDA subscale). Dysregulation at T1-T3 was assessed with the Teacher Report Form (TRF). Academic achievement in mathematics and literacy was rated by teachers using the Teacher Academic Ratings. At T3, children also completed the Capacity to Be Alone Scale for Children (CBASC). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) tested longitudinal direct, indirect, and moderated pathways, adjusting for sex, maternal education, and socioeconomic status.
resultsScreen time at age 4 was associated with elevated dysregulation at T1 and T2, which in turn mediated poorer mathematics and literacy outcomes and reduced capacity to be alone at age 12 (all
conclusionsFindings indicate that early excessive screen use contributes to a cumulative cascade of dysregulation, undermining both academic achievement and the developmental capacity to be alone by preadolescence. Preventive strategies should integrate screen-time guidelines with parental scaffolding interventions.
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