Background
Methods
Study protocol
Measurement of screen time behaviour
Measurement of individual and family environmental factors
Individual variables | Item (ICC TV/PC) | Response category |
---|---|---|
Child perception of the screen time recommendations (CQ) | Children my age should not watch TV/DVD or use a computer/game console for leisure activities for more than… (ICC = 0.51/0.58) | 1 = 30 min/day; 2 = 1 h/day; 3 = 2 h/day; 4 = 3 h/day; 5 = 4 h/day |
Child attitudea (CQ) | I think watching TV/DVD or using the computer/game console for leisure activities is good for me (ICC = 0.59/0.59) | 1 = I fully agree; 2 = I partly agree; 3 = Neither agree nor disagree; 4 = I partly disagree; 5 = I fully disagree |
Child preferencea (CQ) | I like watching TV/DVD or using a computer/game console for leisure activities (ICC = 0.56/0.51) | 1 = I fully agree; 2 = I partly agree; 3 = Neither agree nor disagree; 4 = I partly disagree; 5 = I fully disagree |
Child self-efficacy (CQ) | I find it hard to NOT watch TV/DVD or use a computer/game console for leisure activities (ICC = 0.57/0.69) | 1 = I fully agree; 2 = I partly agree; 3 = Neither agree nor disagree; 4 = I partly disagree; 5 = I fully disagree |
Child habita (CQ) | Watching TV/DVD or using a computer/game console for leisure activities is something that I do without really thinking about it (ICC = 0.60/0.63) | 1 = I fully agree; 2 = I partly agree; 3 = Neither agree nor disagree; 4 = I partly disagree; 5 = I fully disagree |
Child agreement with rulesa (CQ) | It is OK for me that my parents have rules about how much I can watch TV/DVD or use a computer/game console for leisure activities (ICC = 0.53/0.59) | 1 = I fully agree; 2 = I partly agree; 3 = Neither agree nor disagree; 4 = I partly disagree; 5 = I fully disagree |
Social environment: Factors regarding what is socially appropriate, acceptable or desirable as related to screen time behavioural choices | ||
Parental behavioura (CQ) | How often do your parents/guardians watch TV/DVD or use a computer/game console for leisure activities? (ICC = 0.73/0.46) | 1 = Always; 2 = Often; 3 = Sometimes; 4 = Not often; 5 = Never |
Parental co-participation (CQ) | How often do you watch TV/DVD or use a computer/game console for leisure activities with your parents/guardians? (ICC = 0.65/0.56) | 1 = Never; 2 = Less than once a week; 3 = Once a week; 4 = 2–4 days a week; 5 = 5–6 days a week; 6 = Every day, once a day; 7 = Every day, more than once a day |
Parental subjective norm (CQ) | If I watch TV/DVD or use a computer/game console for leisure activities, my parents/guardians think this is good for me (ICC = 0.57/0.52) | 1 = I fully agree; 2 = I partly agree; 3 = Neither agree nor disagree; 4 = I partly disagree; 5 = I fully disagree |
Parental perception of the screen time recommendations (PQ) | Children of same age as my child should not watch TV/DVD or use a computer/game console for leisure activities for more than… (ICC = 0.67/0.68) | 1 = 30 min/day; 2 = 1 h/day; 3 = 2 h/day; 4 = 3 h/day; 5 = 4 h/day |
Parental avoidance of negative modeling behavioura (PQ) | If I would like to watch TV/DVD or use a computer/game console for leisure activities, I would refrain from doing so if my child were there (ICC = 0.62/0.47) | 1 = Always; 2 = Often; 3 = Sometimes; 4 = Not often; 5 = Never |
Political environment: Rules and regulations regarding screen time behavioural choices | ||
Parental strictness item 1 (CQ) | My parents/guardians let me watch TV/DVD or use a computer/game console whenever I want (ICC = 0.73/0.67) | 1 = I fully agree; 2 = I partly agree; 3 = Neither agree nor disagree; 4 = I partly disagree; 5 = I fully disagree |
Parental strictness item 2 (CQ) | If I ask my parents/guardians to watch TV/DVD or use a computer/game console for leisure activities, I can do so (ICC = 0.49/0.65) | 1 = I fully agree; 2 = I partly agree; 3 = Neither agree nor disagree; 4 = I partly disagree; 5 = I fully disagree |
Parental rules (CQ) | My parents/guardians have rules about how much I am allowed to watch TV/DVD or use a computer/game console for leisure activities (ICC = 0.56/0.69) | 1 = I fully agree; 2 = I partly agree; 3 = Neither agree nor disagree; 4 = I partly disagree; 5 = I fully disagree |
Child participation in setting rules (CQ) | Did you take part in setting these rules for TV/DVD watching or using a computer/game console for leisure activities (ICC = 0.68/0.68) | 0 = No; 1 = Yes |
Parental monitoringa (PQ) | I pay attention to the amount of time my child watches TV/DVD or uses a computer/game console for leisure activities (ICC = 0.67/0.74) | 1 = Always; 2 = Often; 3 = Sometimes; 4 = Not often; 5 = Never |
Parental negotiationa (PQ) | I discuss the amount of time my child is allowed to watch TV/DVD or to use a computer/game console for leisure activities with him/her (ICC = 0.71/0.71) | 1 = Always; 2 = Often; 3 = Sometimes; 4 = Not often; 5 = Never |
Economic environment: Factors related to the ‘affordability’ of screen time behavioural choices, i.e. financial opportunities regarding, and the costs of, screen time behavioural choices | ||
Parental education (PQ) | What is the highest level of education you have completed? | 1 = Elementary school; 2 = Secondary school; 3 = College/University (Bachelor degree or equivalent); 4 = College/University (Master degree; equivalent or more) |
Response category 1 and 2 were combined into 1 = Low education; Response category 3 and 4 were combined into 2 = High education | ||
Physical environment: Availability and accessibility of screen time behavioural choices | ||
Number of TV’s in the household (CQ) | How many TV’s are there in your home? (ICC = 0.87) | 1 = None; 2 = 1; 3 = 2; 4 = 3; 5 = 4; 6 = More than 4 |
Having a TV in the bedroom (CQ) | Do you have a TV in your own bedroom? (ICC = 0.87) | 0 = No; 1 = Yes |
Having a TV in the kitchen (PQ) | Do you have a TV in your kitchen? (ICC = 0.88) | 0 = No; 1 = Yes |
Number of computers in the household (CQ) | How many computers are there in your home? (Include laptops and iPads) (ICC = 0.92) | 1 = None; 2 = 1; 3 = 2; 4 = 3; 5 = 4; 6 = More than 4 |
Having an own computer (CQ) | Do you have your own computer? (ICC = 0.96) | 0 = No; 1 = Yes |
Number of consoles in the household (CQ) | How many game consoles (e.g. Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo (Wii, GameCube, DS)) are there in your home? (ICC = 0.80) | 1 = None; 2 = 1; 3 = 2; 4 = 3; 5 = 4; 6 = More than 4 |
Having an own console (CQ) | Do you have your own game console (e.g. Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo (Wii, GameCube, DS))? (ICC = 0.88) | 0 = No; 1 = Yes |
Reliability and validity of measures
Statistical analyses
Results
Sample characteristics
Child age (mean ± SD years) | Child sex (% girls) | Parental age (mean ± SD years) | Television time (mean ± SD min/day) | Computer time (mean ± SD min/day) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total sample (n = 2022) | 11.2 ± 0.8 | 54 | 40.5 ± 5.1 | 97.1 ± 58.5 | 66.0 ± 59.0 |
Belgium (n = 468) | 11.1 ± 0.7 | 55 | 40.2 ± 4.4 | 92.7 ± 54.0 | 52.3 ± 49.5 |
Germany (n = 304) | 10.8 ± 0.6 | 46 | 41.6 ± 5.3 | 87.4 ± 55.7 | 57.0 ± 56.1 |
Greece (n = 498) | 11.5 ± 0.7 | 57 | 41.3 ± 5.2 | 107.3 ± 58.2 | 68.5 ± 57.0 |
Hungary (n = 471) | 11.8 ± 0.5 | 54 | 38.8 ± 5.1 | 100.9 ± 65.6 | 77.3 ± 66.8 |
Norway (n = 301) | 11.8 ± 0.5 | 54 | 41.2 ± 5.3 | 90.2 ± 53.2 | 73.7 ± 60.0 |
Individual and environmental correlates of television and computer time
BELGIUM | GERMANY | GREECE | HUNGARY | NORWAY | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Television | Computer | Television | Computer | Television | Computer | Television | Computer | Television | Computer | |
Β, SE (95 % CI) | Β, SE (95 % CI) | Β, SE (95 % CI) | Β, SE (95 % CI) | Β, SE (95 % CI) | Β, SE (95 % CI) | Β, SE (95 % CI) | Β, SE (95 % CI) | Β, SE (95 % CI) | Β, SE (95 % CI) | |
Individual variables | ||||||||||
Perception of recommendations | 22.28, 1.93 | 0.10, 0.01 | 16.31, 2.33 | 0.12, 0.02 | 14.38, 1.98 | 0.08, 0.02 | 25.35, 2.26 | 0.12, 0.01 | 18.05, 2.41 | 0.10, 0.02 |
(18.51;26.06) | (0.07;0.12) | (11.58;20.69) | (0.07;0.16) | (10.50;18.25) | (0.05;0.11) | (20.92;29.78) | (0.09;0.15) | (13.34;22.77) | (0.07;0.13) | |
Attitude | NS | 0.04, 0.01 | NS | NS | NS | NS | NS | NS | NS | NS |
(0.01;0.06) | ||||||||||
Preference | NS | 0.07, 0.02 | 10.58, 2.78 | 0.09, 0.02 | 9.64, 2.68 | 0.07, 0.02 | NS | 0.04, 0.01 | 9.39, 2.99 | 0.09, 0.02 |
(0.04;0.10) | (5.14;16.02) | (0.05;0.13) | (5.82;14.99) | (0.04;0.10) | (0.01;0.07) | (3.53;15.26) | (0.05;0.12) | |||
Self-efficacy | NS | −0.04, 0.01 | −5.05, 1.91 | NS | −6.21, 1.76 | −0.07, 0.01 | −5.52, 1.54 | −0.03, 0.01 | −9.63, 1.98 | −0.03, 0.01 |
(−0.06; −0.01) | (−8.78; −1.31) | (−9.66; −2.76) | (−0.09; −0.04) | (−8.54; −2.50) | (−0.05; −0.01) | (−13.50; −5.76) | (−0.06;0.00) | |||
Habit | NS | 0.03, 0.01 | NS | 0.05, 0.02 | NS | NS | NS | 0.06, 0.01 | NS | 0.06, 0.01 |
(0.00;0.05) | (0.01;0.08) | (0.03;0.08) | (0.04;0.09) | |||||||
Agreement with rules | NS | – | NS | NS | NS | −0.02, 0.01 | NS | NS | NS | NS |
(−0.05;0.00) | ||||||||||
Social environmental variables | ||||||||||
Parental behaviour | NS | – | NS | NS | NS | NS | 7.96, 3.15 | NS | 9.61, 3.83 | NS |
(1.78;4.14) | (2.11;17.11) | |||||||||
Parental co-participation | 4.07, 1.38 | NS | 4.77, 1.75 | NS | NS | 0.02, 0.01 | 5.47, 1.52 | 0.04, 0.01 | 5.23, 2.02 | NS |
(1.37;6.78) | (1.33;8.20) | (0.00;0.04) | (2.48;8.45) | (0.02;0.05) | (1.27;9.19) | |||||
Parental subjective norm | NS | NS | NS | NS | – | NS | −5.04, 1.93 | NS | NS | NS |
(−8.83; −1.26) | ||||||||||
Parental perception of recommendations | NS | 0.13, 0.02 | 18.74, 3.47 | NS | – | 0.08, 0.02 | 8.59, 2.58 | 0.06, 0.02 | 9.98, 3.42 | 0.08, 0.03 |
(0.06;0.16) | (11.95;25.53) | (0.04;0.12) | (3.50;13.60) | (0.01;0.10) | (3.28;16.68) | (0.03;0.13) | ||||
Parental avoidance of negative modeling behaviour | – | – | NS | −0.03, 0.02 | – | – | – | −0.02, 0.01 | – | – |
(−0.07;0.00) | (−0.04;0.00) | |||||||||
Political environmental variables | ||||||||||
Parental strictness 1 | −5.16, 1.46 | NS | NS | NS | NS | −0.03, 0.01 | NS | NS | NS | NS |
(−8.02; −2.30) | (−0.06; −0.01) | |||||||||
Parental strictness 2 | NS | NS | NS | −0.07, 0.03 | −9.64, 2.68 | NS | NS | −0.05, 0.02 | NS | NS |
(−0.13; −0.02) | (−14.90; −4.39) | (−0.08; −0.01) | ||||||||
Parental rules | NS | – | 5.41, 1.62 | NS | 4.72, 1.65 | – | 3.47, 1.52 | NS | – | – |
(2.23;8.58) | (1.50;7.95) | (0.48;6.45) | ||||||||
Child participation in setting rules | – | – | – | – | NS | – | NS | – | – | – |
Parental monitoring | −8.04, 2.18 | −0.04, 0.02 | NS | – | NS | – | NS | NS | NS | – |
(−12.31; −3.77) | (−0.07; −0.01) | |||||||||
Parental negotiation | NS | NS | – | – | −6.57, 2.32 | NS | NS | – | NS | −0.04, 0.02 |
(−11.12; −2.01) | (−0.08; −0.01) | |||||||||
Economic environmental variables | ||||||||||
Parental education | NS | NS | – | – | – | NS | NS | NS | – | – |
Physical environmental variables | ||||||||||
TV | ||||||||||
Number of TV’s in the household | NS | n/a | NS | n/a | NS | n/a | NS | n/a | NS | n/a |
Having a TV in the bedroom | NS | n/a | NS | n/a | NS | n/a | NS | n/a | NS | n/a |
Having a TV in the kitchen | – | n/a | – | n/a | – | n/a | – | n/a | – | n/a |
Computer | ||||||||||
Number of computers in the household | n/a | – | n/a | NS | n/a | – | n/a | NS | n/a | NS |
Having an own computer | n/a | NS | n/a | NS | n/a | – | n/a | 0.10, 0.03 | n/a | NS |
(0.04;0.16) | ||||||||||
Number of consoles in the household | n/a | 0.03, 0.01 | n/a | NS | n/a | NS | n/a | NS | n/a | – |
(0.00;0.04) | ||||||||||
Having an own console | n/a | – | n/a | NS | n/a | NS | n/a | NS | n/a | NS |