Current status and correlates of screen time among children in Guangdong during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective To investigate the current status of online classes, screen time and its influencing factors among primary school students in Guangdong during the 2019 novel coronavirus pandemic. Methods Using the convenience sampling method, a total of 5 266 pupils aged 6–12-years-old from Guangzhou, Zhanjiang, and Zhongshan participated in the online questionnaire. ANOVA or chi-square tests were performed to compare differences in online classes and screen time between grades, and multinomial Logistic regression was performed to analyze the correlates of recreational screen time. Results The prevalence of prolonged recreational screen time was 42.2% and 55.2% on weekdays and weekends, respectively. Recreational screen time increased by 40.31 min/d on weekdays and 33.07 min/d on weekends, compared to usual school semesters. The average duration of an online class was (26.07±9.62) min, which totaled (110.41±51.98) min per day. Sex, grade, being the only child, and parents’ education levels were identified as the influencing factors of prolonged recreational screen time. Children who practiced moderate levels (weekdays: OR =1.27; weekends: OR =1.40; P<0.05) or lower levels of physical activity (weekdays: OR=1.86; weekend: OR=1.84; P< 0.05) were at a higher risk of prolonged recreational screen time than those who practiced more vigorous physical activity. Children whose parents limited their screen time to a moderate (weekdays: OR=1.61, P<0.05) or lower level (weekdays: OR=1. 32, P< 0.05) had a higher risk of prolonged recreational screen time than those with a higher frequency. Children with parents’ recreational screen time ≥2 h/d had a higher risk of prolonged recreational screen time than the reference group; children who exhibited moderate to vigorous levels of physical activity <1 h/d (weekdays: OR=1.31, P<0.05), and those used electronic devices for learning 1-2 h/d (weekdays: OR=2.65; weekend: OR=2.65; P<0.05) or for ≥ 2 h/d (weekdays: OR=4.05, weekend: OR=5.24, P<0.05) were at a higher risk of prolonged recreational screen time than the reference group. Conclusion During the COVID-19 pandemic, the level of screen time among children in Guangdong was high. Behavioral monitoring and targeted interventions are needed to promote children’s health. 【摘要】 目的 了解新型冠状肺炎疫情期间广东省小学生网课及视屏行为现状及其影响因素, 为儿童视屏行为干预和健康促进提供依据。 方法 采用方便抽样的方法抽取广东省广州市、湛江市、中山市共 5 266 名 6~12 岁小学生家长进行线上问卷调查。采用方差分析或 χ 2 检验比较各年级学生网课和视屏行为现状的差异, 采用多因素 Logistic 回归分析娱乐型视屏时间过长的影响因素。 结果 小学生学习日和周末娱乐型视屏时间过长检出率分别为 42.2% 和 55.2%; 与非疫情的学期相比, 娱乐型视屏时间在学习日和周末分别增长了 40.31 和 33.07 min/d。各年级小学生平均单节网课时长为 (26.07±9.62) min, 单日网课时长为 (110.41±51.98) min。性别、年级、是否独生子女、父母文化程度等人口学因素是娱乐型视屏时间过长的影响因素;与父母陪伴运动锻炼频率较高的儿童相比, 父母陪伴运动锻炼频率中等(学习日： OR=1.27, 周末: OR=1.40) 和较低 (学习日： OR=1.86, 周末: OR=1.84) 儿童娱乐型视屏时间过长的风险较高 ( P 值均<0.05); 相较于父母限制视屏行为频率较高的儿童, 父母限制视屏行为频率中等和较低儿童学习日娱乐型视屏时间过长的风险较高 ( OR 值分别为 1.61, 1.32, P 值均<0.05); 父母娱乐型视屏时间 ≥2h/d 较 <2 h/d 易使儿童娱乐型视屏时间过长的风险增加(学习日： OR=3.09, 周末: OR=2.81, P 值均<0.05); 儿童中高强度体力活动 <1 h/d (学习日: OR =1.31) 相较于 ≥1 h/d, 用电子设备学习时间 1~2 h/d (学习日: OR=2.65, 周末： OR=2.65)、≥2 h/d (学习日: OR=4.05, 周末： OR=5.24) 相较于 <1 h/d 也增加了娱乐型视屏时间过长的风险 ( P 值均<0.05)。 结论 疫情期间, 广东省儿童视屏时间水平较高, 需加强恢复学校教学秩序后儿童的行为监测以及实施有针对性的干预措施。