Short-term screen detox boosts mental health of children, teens

Within families, reducing leisure-time screen media use over 2 weeks can yield positive benefits for the mental health of children and adolescents, according to a secondary analysis of a cluster randomized clinical trial.

The trial involved 89 families, including 181 children and adolescents, and was carried out in their homes. These families were randomly assigned to undergo a 2-week screen media reduction intervention (45 families with 86 children, mean age 8.6 years, 49 percent girls) or to continue with their usual screen media habits (control; 44 families with 95 children, mean age 9.5 years, 60 percent girls). The intervention involved handing over smartphones and tablets and limiting leisure-time screen media use on other devices to not more than 3 hours per week per person.

The main outcome measure of the change in total behavioural difficulties, measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), at the 2-week follow-up was significantly greater in the intervention group than in the control group (between-group mean difference, –1.67, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], −2.68 to −0.67; Cohen d, 0.53).

Analyses of the SDQ subscales showed that the effect of cutting leisure-time screen media use was most pronounced on internalizing symptoms (emotional symptoms and peer problems; between-group mean difference, −1.03, 95 percent CI, −1.76 to −0.29) and prosocial behaviour (between-group mean difference, 0.84, 95 percent CI, 0.39–1.30).

Additional investigation is needed to determine whether the positive effects of the intervention are sustainable in the long term, according to the researchers.