Background: The primary objective of this study was to explore the feasibility of a virtual study protocol for a future longitudinal study, including recruitment, study measures, and procedures. The secondary objective was to examine preliminary hypotheses of associations, including 1) the correlations between total duration and patterns of screen time and cognitive development, and 2) the differences in quality of parent-child interactions for two screen-based tasks and a storybook reading task.
Methods: Participants included 44 children aged 3 years and their parents from Edmonton, Alberta and surrounding areas.
Objectives: Research on the correlates of screen time in young children, that could be targeted in future interventions to improve healthy development, has primarily focused on TV viewing with little consideration of mobile devices. The objectives of this study were to examine the associations between a range of demographic, parental, and home environment correlates and preschool-aged children's TV/video viewing, video/computer game playing, and total screen time across traditional and mobile devices.
Methods: The results of this cross-sectional study are based on 106 preschool-aged children (3-5 years) and their parents recruited in 2018 in Edmonton, Alberta.