Date of Award
Fall 2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Psychology
Committee Chairperson
Eleanor D. Brown, PhD
Committee Member
Kristen R. Breit, PhD
Committee Member
Dawn K. Kriebel, PhD
Abstract
Given the prevalence of screentime, its impact on child development has become a question of key concern for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, as well as parents. Recent attention has focused specifically on the potential negative effects of screentime on young children’s development of self-regulatory capacities. These negative effects of screentime could be particularly detrimental for children in poverty, who face stressors and forms of environmental adversity that can compromise self-regulatory development. The present study examines the relationship between screentime at bedtime and the inhibitory control aspect of young children’s self-regulation. Participants included 144 children ages of 3-5 years old who attended a Head Start preschool in Philadelphia, and their parents or primary caregivers. Parents or primary caregivers completed initial demographic interviews as well as daily telephone interviews completed on 10 different days in a 2-week period near the start of the preschool year, and these telephone interviews provided information about children’s screentime at bedtime. Children completed subsequent, standardized performance tasks measuring inhibitory control. Results of linear regression analyses revealed a significant negative association between screentime before bedtime and children’s self-regulation. Implications concern understanding how screentime at bedtime relates to self-regulation for children facing poverty and related forms of environmental adversity.
Recommended Citation
Donahue, Krista, "Screentime at Bedtime relates to Lower Performance on Self-Regulatory Tasks for Young Children Facing Economic Hardship" (2024). West Chester University Master’s Theses. 330.
https://digitalcommons.wcupa.edu/all_theses/330