Research Article: Early screen exposure and its association with motor affordances in the home environment of Brazilian preterm and full-term infants
Abstract:
Although research on screen exposure in infants has grown, little is known about the differences in screen time exposure between term and preterm infants, and how these differences may influence motor development. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were to characterize and compare screen exposure in preterm and full-term infants from a developing country, and to investigate associations between family sociodemographic characteristics, motor development, and home environment opportunities in both groups.
We analysed data from a cross-sectional study conducted with parents of 80 full-term and preterm infants. The Alberta Infant Motor Scale was used to assess motor development. Parents completed the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development—Infant Scale (AHEMD-IS) and a self-report questionnaire on sociodemographics, their infant's health, and the exposure of both infants and parents to digital screens.
Although no statistically significant difference was observed, the median (interquartile range [IQR]) screen exposure of full-term and preterm infants was 3.5 [7] and 0 [7] hours per week, respectively. Preterm infants' parents watch television longer 17.5 [IQR] than full-term infants' parents 12 [IQR]. There was a significant correlation between the number of hours that parents watch television and the exposure of preterm infants to screens ( rho =?0.583; p =?0.047). There was an association between family income, and AHEMD-IS ( rho =?0.581; p =?0.047).
The findings of the present study demonstrated the importance of providing parents with information about the risks associated with excessive screen exposure to infancy, emphasizing that parents play a central role in shaping developmental environment of their children. Parents should be cautioned about the presence of a television playing in the background while infants are at play or present. The present study concluded that, although no statistically significant differences were observed between groups, full-term infants exhibited a trend toward longer screen exposure compared with preterm infants. This study also showed that the time that parents watch TV was associated with their preterm infant's motor development.
Introduction:
Although research on screen exposure in infants has grown, little is known about the differences in screen time exposure between term and preterm infants, and how these differences may influence motor development. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were to characterize and compare screen exposure in preterm and full-term infants from a developing country, and to investigate associations between family sociodemographic characteristics, motor development, and home environment opportunities in both groups.
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