A longitudinal study of the relation between childhood activities and psychosocial adjustment in early adolescence

Wong, R. S. et al. (2021) A longitudinal study of the relation between childhood activities and psychosocial adjustment in early adolescence. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(10), 5299. (doi: 10.3390/ijerph18105299) (PMID:34065751) (PMCID:PMC8157182)

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Abstract

Background: Although an increasing body of research shows that excessive screen time could impair brain development, whereas non-screen recreational activities can promote the development of adaptive emotion regulation and social skills, there is a lack of comparative research on this topic. Hence, this study examined whether and to what extent the frequency of early-life activities predicted later externalizing and internalizing problems. Methods: In 2012/13, we recruited Kindergarten 3 (K3) students from randomly selected kindergartens in two districts of Hong Kong and collected parent-report data on children’s screen activities and parent–child activities. In 2018/19, we re-surveyed the parents of 323 students (aged 11 to 13 years) with question items regarding their children’s externalizing and internalizing symptoms in early adolescence. Linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between childhood activities and psychosocial problems in early adolescence. Results: Early-life parent–child activities (β = −0.14, p = 0.012) and child-alone screen use duration (β = 0.15, p = 0.007) independently predicted externalizing problems in early adolescence. Their associations with video game exposure (β = 0.19, p = 0.004) and non-screen recreational parent–child activities (β = −0.14, p = 0.004) were particularly strong. Conclusions: Parent–child play time is important for healthy psychosocial development. More efforts should be directed to urge parents and caregivers to replace child-alone screen time with parent–child play time.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:Funding: The study was supported by two research grants from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project Nos. 746111 and 17606318).
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Ho, Dr Frederick
Creator Roles:
Ho, F. K.W.Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Writing – review and editing, Project administration
Authors: Wong, R. S., Tung, K. T.S., Rao, N., Ho, F. K.W., Chan, K. L., Fu, K.-W., Tso, W. W. Y., Jiang, F., Yam, J. C.S., Coghill, D., Wong, I. C.K., and Ip, P.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Public Health
Journal Name:International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Publisher:MDPI
ISSN:1661-7827
ISSN (Online):1660-4601
Published Online:16 May 2021
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2021 by the authors
First Published:First published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18(10):5299
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons Licence

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