Associations between screen time, negative life events, and emotional and behavioral problems among Chinese children and adolescents

Mental health problems among children and adolescents are a pressing public health issue. This study aimed to investigate the associations between screen time (ST), negative life events (NLEs), and emotional and behavioral problems (EBPs) among Chinese children and adolescents. A total of 5959 boys and girls from 14 elementary and junior high schools of four cities in China were included in this study. EBPs were assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), NLEs were evaluated by the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist (ASLEC), and ST data were obtained through self-reporting. Descriptive analyses, chi-squared tests, and logistic regression were performed using SPSS 23.0. There were significant associations between ST/NLEs and EBPs. Participants with high exposure to ST or NLEs were more likely to have EBPs than those with low exposure to ST or NLEs. The simultaneous associations of ST and NLEs on EBPs were stronger than those of ST or NLEs, individually. This was a cross-sectional research study; therefore, it could not judge causality or direction. ST and NLEs were retrospective and might have recall biases. Our results showed positive associations between ST, NLEs, and EBPs. The results indicate that interventions should be considered to decrease ST and NLEs for children and adolescents.