Seven-in-seven screen exposure questionnaire (Yalçin et al. 2021)

This short scale comprises seven questions about children’s screen-time to capture:

daily screen time, viewing with parent(s), setting screen limits, screen exposure during

meals and in the hour before bedtime, age of onset of screen exposure, and viewing

low-quality content. The scale generates a total problematic screen exposure score

(range 0–13) that can be categorised as ‘low’ or ‘high’. In an evaluation of the measure

(ibid) using 1,245 mother-child pairs, with children having an average age of 3.9 years,

22.5% of children were categorised as having ‘high’ levels of problematic screen-time

exposure.

Recommendations for Cohort 24 at 3 years

•Some consistency with Cohort 08 at 3 could be achieved by repeating questions on the existence of rules about TV content and the presence of a television or other screen device in the child’s bedroom. The item on rules for TV content could be supplemented with additional detail on supervision of the child’s screen use. It would also be useful to collect some information, at least in the pilot, as to whether parents use screen-time either as a soothing aid or a reward for good behaviour; to evaluate the longer-term effect on the child’s relationship with digital media if it is associated with a reward and not just an entertainment.

•A question about the amount of time the child spends on all screen activities – including television, games, social media – would provide some consistency with Cohort 24 at 9 months and Cohort 08 at 3 but likely not an exact match. It would be useful to ask for additional detail on the specific screen-based activities that the 3-year-old engages in; for example, interactive games or video calls to family may affect development in a different way to passive television viewing.

•Problematic screen-exposure could be captured using the ‘seven-in-seven screentime exposure questionnaire’ or similar measure. This may require revision of other ‘stand-alone’ questions on screen-time to avoid duplication.

•It would be interesting to pilot a question on the child’s early engagement with AI – such as speaking to an ‘Alexa’ type device.

•It is also recommended that the questions for parents on their own leisure screen-time, used with Cohort 24 at 9 months be continued with an additional question as to what proportion of that screen-time occurs in the child’s presence.

•Note that related questions on the implications for screen-time and snacking behaviours, and using technology to maintain relationships with extended family are discussed separately in the health and family context chapters of this report.

Participation in organised activities