Media attention and Vaccine Hesitancy: Examining the mediating effects of Fear of COVID-19 and the moderating role of Trust in leadership.

Vaccination has emerged as the most cost-effective public health strategy for maintaining population health, with various social and economic benefits. These vaccines, however, cannot be effective without widespread acceptance. The present study examines the effect of media attention on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy by incorporating fear of COVID-19 as a mediator, whereas trust in leadership served as a moderator. An analytical cross-sectional study is performed among rural folks in the Wassa Amenfi Central of Ghana. Using a questionnaire survey, we were able to collect 3079 valid responses. The Smart PLS was used to estimate the relationship among the variables. The results revealed that media attention had a significant influence on vaccine hesitancy. Furthermore, the results showed that fear of COVID-19 played a significant mediating role in the relationship between media and vaccine hesitancy. However, trust in leadership had an insignificant moderating relationship on the fear of COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy. The study suggests that the health management team can reduce vaccine hesitancy if they focus on lessening the negative impact of media and other antecedents like fear on trust in leadership.

Social media usage to share information in communication journals: An analysis of social media activity and article citations.

Social media has surrounded every area of life, and social media platforms have become indispensable for today's communication. Many journals use social media actively to promote and disseminate new articles. Its use to share the articles contributes many benefits, such as reaching more people and spreading information faster. However, there is no consensus in the studies that to evaluate between tweeted and non-tweeted papers regarding their citation numbers. Therefore, it was aimed to show the effect of social media on the citations of articles in the top ten communication-based journals. For this purpose, this work evaluated original articles published in the top 10 communication journals in 2018. The top 10 communication-based journals were chosen based on SCImago Journal & Country Rank (cited in 2019). Afterward, it was recorded the traditional citation numbers (Google Scholar and Thompson-Reuters Web of Science) and social media exposure of the articles in January 2021 (nearly three years after the articles' publication date). It was assumed that this period would allow the impact of the published articles (the citations and Twitter mentions) to be fully observed. Based on this assessment, a positive correlation between exposure to social media and article citations was observed in this study.

How media presence triggers participation in citizen science-The case of the mosquito monitoring project 'Mückenatlas'.

Since 2012, the citizen science project 'Mückenatlas' has been supplementing the German mosquito monitoring programme with over 28,000 submissions of physical insect samples. As the factors triggering people to catch mosquitoes for science are still unknown, we analysed the influence of mass media reports on mosquito submission numbers. Based on a theoretical framework of how mass media affect citizen responsiveness, we identified five possible influencing factors related to citizen science: (i) project awareness and knowledge, (ii) attention (economy), (iii) individual characteristics of citizen scientists and targeted communication, (iv) spatial differences and varying affectedness, and (v) media landscape. Hypotheses based on these influencing factors were quantitatively and qualitatively tested with two datasets: clipping data of mass media reports (online, television, radio and print) referring to or focussing on the 'Mückenatlas', and corresponding data of 'Mückenatlas' submissions between 2014 and 2017. In general, the number of media reports positively affected the number of mosquito submissions on a temporal and spatial scale, i.e. many media reports provoke many mosquito submissions. We found that an already heightened public and media awareness of mosquito-relevant topics combined with a direct call-to-action in a media report title led to a maximum participation. Differences on federal state level, however, suggest that factors additional to quantitative media coverage trigger participation in the 'Mückenatlas', in particular the mosquito affectedness of the resident population. Lastly, media types appear to differ in their effects on the number of submissions. Our results show under which circumstances the media presence of the 'Mückenatlas' is most effective in activating people to submit mosquito samples, and thus provide advice for designing communication strategies for citizen science projects.

Electronic media use and symptoms of depression among adolescents in Norway.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between electronic media use, including use of social media and gaming, and symptoms of depression, and whether gender or having friends moderated these associations. METHODS: This study was based on self-reported cross-sectional data from the Ungdata survey, conducted in 2018 by the Norwegian Social Research (NOVA) Institute in cooperation with seven regional drug and alcohol competence centres. The target group comprised 12,353 15-16 years old adolescents. Binominal logistic regression was used to analyse the association between electronic media use and symptoms of depression. RESULTS: The odds of having symptoms of depression were higher for those who used social media more than 3 hours per day (OR: 1.60, 95% CI: 1.43-1.80), compared to those who used social media 3 hours or less per day. Additionally, the odds of having symptoms of depression was higher for those who used more than 3 hours on gaming per day (OR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.36-1.80), compared to those who used 3 hours and less on gaming per day after adjustment for potential confounders. There were no interaction effects between social media and gaming use with symptoms of depression. Neither were the associations between social media use and gaming with symptoms of depression moderated by gender or having friends. CONCLUSIONS: The odds of having symptoms of depression were significantly higher for adolescents with a more frequent use of electronic media.

Reported health and social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable populations and implemented solutions in six West African countries: A media content analysis.

Coronavirus has spread worldwide with over 140 million cases and resulting in more than 3 million deaths between November 2019 to April 2021, threatening the socio-economic and psychosocial stability of many families and communities. There has been limited research to understand the consequences of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations in West Africa, and whether such consequences differ by countries' previous experience with Ebola. Using a media analysis of leading online news sources, this study identified the populations particularly vulnerable to the threats of the COVID-19 pandemic, described the consequences of COVID-19 experienced by these populations, and reported on the solutions to address them. All articles from the selected news sources published between January 1 and June 30, 2020 on 6 West African countries were imported into Dedoose. A total of 4,388 news articles were coded for excerpts on vulnerable populations, only 285 excerpts of which mentioned the existing effects of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations or implemented solutions. News articles from countries with past experience with Ebola were more likely to mention the pandemic's effects on vulnerable populations, especially on incarcerated people. Vulnerable groups were reported to have experienced a range of effects including economic disruptions, heightened domestic and sexual abuse, arbitrary arrests, health care inaccessibility, and educational challenges throughout the pandemic. With implications for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for 2030 in West Africa, these countries should consider and focus more strategic efforts on vulnerable populations to overcome their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and to achieve the SDG for 2030.

Infodemics: Do healthcare professionals detect corona-related false news stories better than students?

False news stories cause welfare losses and fatal health consequences. To limit its dissemination, it is essential to know what determines the ability to distinguish between true and false news stories. In our experimental study, we present subjects corona-related stories taken from the media from various categories (e.g. social isolation, economic consequences, direct health consequences, and strong exaggeration). The subject's task is to evaluate the stories as true or false. Besides students with and without healthcare background, we recruit healthcare professionals to increase the external validity of our study. Our main findings are: (i) Healthcare professionals perform similar to students in correctly distinguishing between true and false news stories. (ii) The propensity to engage in analytical thinking and actively open-minded thinking is positively associated with the ability to distinguish between true and false. (iii) We find that the residence of the subjects (East- or West-Germany) plays only a minor role. (iv) If news stories are in line with existing narratives, subjects tend to think that the stories are true.

Use of tramadol and other analgesics following media attention and risk minimization actions from regulators: a Danish nationwide drug utilization study.

PURPOSE: To describe the use of tramadol and other analgesics in Denmark focusing on the impact of media attention (June and December 2017) and regulatory actions (September 2017 and January 2018) on the use of tramadol. METHODS: Using nationwide registries, we identified all adults who filled a prescription for tramadol and other analgesics from 2014 to 2019. We described incidence rates, prevalence proportions, and total use of tramadol and other analgesics over time. We also described switching between analgesics, treatment duration, skewness in drug use, and doctor-shopping. RESULTS: From early 2017 until the end of 2019, total tramadol use decreased markedly while the use of morphine and oxycodone decreased slightly. The quarterly prevalence of tramadol use decreased from 32/1000 individuals in 2014 to 18/1000 at the end of 2019, dropping mainly at the time of media attention. Concomitantly, the quarterly prevalence increased for oxycodone (from 5.1 to 8.2) and morphine (from 8.5 to 9.8), mainly due to more short-term and sporadic users, and decreased for codeine (14 to 9.6). From 2014 to mid-2017, the incidence of tramadol use was stable (around 2.2/1000 person-months) but dropped in June 2017 to 1.7/1000, coinciding with the media attention. The incidence of tramadol use continued to decrease (to 1.1/1000 at the end of 2019). CONCLUSION: We identified a decline in tramadol use coinciding with the media attention in 2017 and continuing during regulatory actions. There was generally no evidence of unintended effects on the utilization of opioids related to the media attention and regulatory actions.

Association entre la fréquence de consultation des médias d'information et la détresse psychologique chez les femmes enceintes durant la pandémie de COVID-19: Association between news media consulting frequency and psychological distress in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: Examine the association between news media use frequency during the COVID-19 pandemic and the scale of psychological distress in pregnant women, considering this distress known harmful effects on the fetus development. METHOD: Pregnant women living in Quebec province (N = 1014) have been recruited in April 2020 through social media, while a state of health emergency was declared. Participants were divided in 4 groups, according to self-reported frequency of news media consulting (little or none; one time a day; several times a day; constant). They filled measures of depressive symptoms, negative affects, post-traumatic stress symptoms and anxiety specific to COVID-19. Instrument scores were grouped under a unique factor of psychological distress. RESULTS: An ANCOVA controlling for age, gestational age, education level, household annual revenue and a diagnosed mental disorder present at the time of participation in study shows that news media exposure frequency is significantly associated with psychological distress severity in pregnant women, during COVID-19 pandemic, F(3,998) = 27.02, p < 0.001, η2 partial = 0.08. Given the mean comparisons a posteriori, higher psychological distress rates are found as soon as news media exposure exceeds once a day (effect sizes between 0.38 and 0.81). CONCLUSIONS: The more pregnant women report consulting the news media during the COVID-19 pandemic, the more likely they are to exhibit psychological distress. Results provide one of the first empirical supports to recommendations of World Health Organization, Canada government and psychiatric associations that encourage population to limit their news media consulting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIF: Examiner l'association entre la fréquence d'utilisation des médias d'information durant la pandémie de COVID-19 et l'ampleur de la détresse psychologique chez les femmes enceintes, considérant les impacts délétères connus de cette détresse sur le développement du fœtus. MÉTHODE: Des femmes enceintes habitant la province de Québec (N = 1014) ont été recrutées en avril 2020 par le biais des médias sociaux, alors qu'un état d'urgence sanitaire prévalait. Les participantes ont été divisées en quatre groupes, selon la fréquence auto-rapportée de consultation des médias d'information (peu ou pas; une fois par jour; plusieurs fois par jour; constante). Elles ont rempli des mesures des symptômes dépressifs, des affects négatifs, des symptômes de stress post-traumatique et d'anxiété spécifique de la COVID-19. Les scores aux instruments se regroupaient sous un facteur unique de détresse psychologique. RÉSULTATS: Une ANCOVA contrôlant pour l'âge, l'âge gestationnel, le niveau d'éducation, le revenu familial annuel et la présence d'un trouble mental diagnostiqué au moment de la participation à l'étude montre que la fréquence d'exposition aux médias d'information est significativement associée à la sévérité de la détresse psychologique chez les femmes enceintes au moment de la pandémie de COVID-19, F(3,998) = 27,02, p < 0,001, η2 partiel = 0,08. Selon les comparaisons de moyennes a posteriori, des taux plus élevés de détresse psychologique s'observent dès que l'exposition aux médias d'information dépasse une fois par jour (tailles de l'effet entre 0,38 et 0,81). CONCLUSIONS: Plus les femmes enceintes consultent les médias d'information pendant la pandémie de COVID-19, plus elles sont sujettes à présenter de la détresse psychologique. Les résultats offrent un des premiers appuis empiriques aux recommandations de l'Organisation mondiale de la santé, du gouvernement du Canada et d'associations de psychiatres encourageant la population à limiter sa consultation des médias d'information durant la pandémie de COVID-19.

Influence of School-Based Smoking Prevention Education on Reducing Gap in Exposure to Anti-Tobacco Media Message among Korean Adolescents.

Korean adolescents at high risk for smoking are less exposed to anti-tobacco media messages. This study examines whether school-based smoking prevention education is related to media exposure and whether it can contribute to reducing the gap in exposure to anti-tobacco media messages between smoking vulnerable and non-vulnerable groups. A nationally representative dataset, the 2018 Korea youth risk behavior web-based survey, comprising 59,410 students from grades 7-12, was analyzed. Logistic regression models were designed to evaluate the association between school-based smoking prevention education and media messages exposure. Within-group differences in exposure levels based on sociodemographic characteristics were compared depending on participation or nonparticipation in school-based smoking prevention education. Experience of smoking prevention education within a year was significantly associated with exposure to anti-tobacco media messages. Among Korean adolescents who participated in smoking prevention education compared to those who did not, the media messages exposure rate was more than 20% higher, and the exposure gap within the subgroups by sociodemographic characteristics was narrower. Participation in school-based smoking prevention education was significantly related to media messages exposure. This relationship can be used to improve the overall media messages exposure rate and to reduce the differences in exposure rate based on sociodemographic traits.

Enquadramentos na medicina regenerativa: os relatos recentes na imprensa brasileira / Frames in regenerative medicine: recent news in the Brazilian press / Marcos referenciales de la medicina regenerativa: noticias recientes en la prensa brasileña

A mídia funciona como uma ponte entre a medicina e o público, e impacta como a informação é organizada e apresentada às pessoas. Realizou-se uma análise de conteúdo, quantitativo e qualitativo, dos enquadramentos principais nas matérias sobre medicina regenerativa publicadas pela Folha de São Paulo e O Globo, entre janeiro de 2012 e maio do 2019. A análise mostrou algumas limitações nas informações publicadas: um número bastante escasso de relatos, com poucas matérias sobre controvérsias sociais e regulatórias e matérias de tons otimistas demais sobre os benefícios das terapias celulares. Conclui-se que falta uma contribuição mais sistemática da imprensa à legitimação social e institucional desta área de ponta no país, desenvolvida com recursos públicos e que oferece uma oportunidade imperdível no aumento da consciência em saúde coletiva, assim como, na participação competitiva do Brasil no cenário global.

Mass media works as a bridge between medicine and the public and produces an impact according to how information is organized and presented. A quantitative and qualitative content analysis was developed on the main framings on regenerative medicine found in reports by the newspapers Folha de São Paulo and O Globo between January 2012 and May 2019. The analysis found limitations in the information published: a reduced number of stories, the presence of few articles on social and regulatory controversies and a portrayal of over-optimistic accounts on the benefits of cellular-based therapies. The article concludes that there is a lack of a more systematic contribution of the printed press to the social and institutional legitimation of the local area, one developed with public resources and that offers a valuable opportunity to raise awareness on collective health, as well as, for a competitive inclusion of Brazil at the global level.

Los medios de comunicación masiva funcionan como un puente entre la medicina y el público, e impactan en los públicos según cómo la información sea organizada y presentada. Se realizó un análisis de contenido, cuantitativo y cualitativo, de los encuadramientos principales en los diarios: Folha de S.Paulo y O Globo sobre la medicina regenerativa entre enero de 2012 y mayo de 2019. El análisis demostró las limitaciones de los contenidos: um número bastante escaso de reportajes, pocas noticias sobre debates y controversias sociales y de tono demasiado optimista acerca de los beneficios de las terapias celulares. Se concluye que falta una contribución sistemática de la prensa a la legitimación social e institucional de esta área de punta em el país, desarrollada com recursos públicos y que ofrece una valiosa oportunidad para un aumento de conciencia sobre la salud colectiva y una participación competitiva de Brazil en el escenario global.

Relationship between media multitasking and functional connectivity in the dorsal attention network.

With the development of digital technology, media multitasking behaviour, which is using two or more media simultaneously, has become more commonplace. There are two opposing hypotheses of media multitasking with regard to its impact on attention. One hypothesis claims that media multitasking can strengthen attention control, and the other claims heavy media multitaskers are less able to focus on relevant tasks in the presence of distractors. A total of 103 healthy subjects took part in this study. We measured the Media Multitasking Index (MMI) and subjects performed the continuous performance test. Resting state and oddball task functional MRI were conducted to analyse functional connectivity in the dorsal attention network, and the degree centrality (DC) was calculated using graph theory analysis. We found that the DCs in the dorsal attention network were higher during resting state than during the oddball task. Furthermore, the DCs during the task were positively correlated with the MMI. These results indicated that the DC reduction from resting state to the oddball task in high media multitaskers was attenuated compared with low media multitaskers. This study not only reveals more about the neurophysiology of media multitasking, but could also indicate brain biomarkers of media multitasking behaviour.

Fake News and Covid-19 in Italy: Results of a Quantitative Observational Study.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, risk communication has often been ineffective, and from this perspective "fake news" has found fertile ground, both as a cause and a consequence of it. The aim of this study is to measure how much "fake news" and corresponding verified news have circulated in Italy in the period between 31 December 2019 and 30 April 2020, and to estimate the quality of informal and formal communication. We used the BuzzSumo application to gather the most shared links on the Internet related to the pandemic in Italy, using keywords chosen according to the most frequent "fake news" during that period. For each research we noted the numbers of "fake news" articles and science-based news articles, as well as the number of engagements. We reviewed 2102 articles. Links that contained fake news were shared 2,352,585 times, accounting for 23.1% of the total shares of all the articles reviewed. Our study throws light on the "fake news" phenomenon in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. A quantitative assessment is fundamental in order to understand the impact of false information and to define political and technical interventions in health communication. Starting from this evaluation, health literacy should be improved by means of specific interventions in order to improve informal and formal communication.

Big Data Analysis of Media Reports Related to COVID-19.

COVID-19 is lasting longer than expected, which has a huge impact on the economy and on personal life. Each country has a different response method, and the damage scale is also distinct. This study aims to find out how COVID-19-related news was handled in the domestic media to seek ways to minimize the pandemic. The paper focuses on the number of news features by period and by disaster and analyzes related words based on big data. The results of the analysis are as follows. First, in the initial response phase, keywords to identify accurate sources of actual broadcast contents, fake news, social networking service (SNS), etc. were also ranked in the top 20. Second, in the active response phase, when the number of confirmed persons and the government's countermeasures were announced, more than 100 COVID-19-related articles were issued, and the related words increased rapidly from the initial response stage. Therefore, the fact that COVID-19 has been expressed as a keyword indicates that our society is watching with great interest in the government's response to the disease.

[Relationship between prolonged media usage and lifestyle habits among junior and senior high school students].

Objective　In recent years, the long-term use of media (including the Internet, video games, and social networking services) at a young age has been regarded as a problem. It has been pointed out that prolonged media usage may have an undesirable effect on the growth of adolescents from the physical, mental, and social perspectives. Junior and senior high school students are in a particularly important period of self-management of the basic lifestyle habits acquired thus far. Additionally, they must cultivate the ability to interact appropriately with media used daily. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the time expended on media usage and lifestyle habits among junior and senior high school students.Methods　A sample of 1,633 students was extracted from all junior and senior high schools in Fukushima City. Principals of the schools distributed a self-administered questionnaire to their students. In total, 1,589 responses were obtained; as surveys of 30 students were missing values for gender and grade, they were excluded from the analysis, and data from 1,559 respondents were ultimately analyzed. A binomial logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between an independent variable (media usage time) and dependent variables (subjective health, lifestyle habits, and drinking and smoking experience) while controlling for gender and grade.Results　Among junior high students, media usage for more than three hours was significantly related to "no breakfast," "no exercise habits," "irregular sleep," "lack of rest," and "feeling stressed." Among high school students, media usage for three hours or more was significantly related to "poor subjective health status," "eating only one or two meals a day," "no breakfast," "low food diversity," "obesity," "no exercise habits," "irregular sleep," "late bedtime," "waking up late," "drinking," and "smoking."Conclusion　Our findings indicate that three or more hours of daily media usage is related to unhealthy lifestyles in terms of sleeping, eating, physical activity, drinking, and smoking. Junior and senior high school students who responded to the survey indicated that prolonged usage was also adversely related to their subjective health. Because the overuse of media is associated with students' lifestyles and health, it is important to develop an educational system that helps junior and senior high school students use media properly.

Excessive Screen Media Use in Preschoolers Is Associated with Poor Motor Skills.

Excessive screen media use exposure is a robust childhood predictor of sedentary behavior. The association between excessive exposure to sedentary behaviors (e.g., screen media use) and motor skills and how this association differs across sociodemographic strata is an important knowledge gap that needs to be addressed. The study aims to investigate the association of motor skills and screen media use in preschool children, taking into account sociodemographic variables, physical activity, and sleep profile. A cross-sectional survey of 926 children from 27 preschools was performed. The main outcome was defined as motor skills assessed using the general motor quotient (GMQ). Independent variables included sociodemographic variables, screen media use, screen habits, physical activity, and sleep duration. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the associations between the children's motor skills and each exposure factor. More than 55 percent of the children ate while watching television and 28 percent spent a long time watching television, playing video games, or using a computer, tablet, or cell phone. Excessive screen media use increased the risk of a low GMQ by 72 percent and inactivity in children increased the odds by 90 percent; sleep duration at night decreased the odds of a low GMQ by 51 percent and daytime sleep decreased the odds by 33 percent. Excessive screen media use has been associated with poor motor skills and increased physical inactivity in children, especially among those with prolonged exposure. Our findings can alert parents to the consequences of excessive screen media use and can motivate policymakers to encourage sports and other health-promotion strategies.

Fiction Is Sweet. The Impact of Media Consumption on the Development of Children's Nutritional Knowledge and the Moderating Role of Parental Food-Related Mediation. A Longitudinal Study.

Nutritional knowledge is an important cognitive facilitator that potentially helps children to follow a healthy diet. Two main information agents influence children's development of nutritional knowledge: the media and their parents. While a high amount of media consumption potentially decreases children's nutritional knowledge, parents may shape the amount of information children can gather about nutrition through their food-related mediation styles. In addition, children's individual preconditions predict how children can process the provided nutritional information. This two-wave panel study with children (N = 719; 5-11 years) and their parents (N = 719) investigated the main effects and interplay of children's amount of media consumption and their parents' food-related mediation styles by performing linear regression analysis. Children's individual preconditions were also considered. We measured children's self-reported amount of media consumption, children's age, sex, weight, and height (BMI). Additionally, in a parent survey we asked parents about how they communicate their rules about eating while especially focusing on active and restrictive food rule communication styles. As a dependent measure, we examined children's nutritional knowledge at Time 1 and 2. The results show that the amount of media consumption has a negative effect on children's nutritional knowledge over time. Parents' restrictive or active food-related mediation asserted no main effects and could not lever out the negative effect of the amount of media consumption. Therefore, we argue that parents should limit children's amount of media consumption to avoid the manifestation of misperceptions about nutrition.

Daily effects of continuous ICT demands on work-family conflict: Negative spillover and role conflict.

Growing concerns about intensive information and communication technology (ICT) use led to abundant research on its debilitating effects on employees' abilities to meet family demands. Drawing on the stressor-strain model, we conducted a daily diary study to investigate how different types of daily ICT demands experienced during work hours and after work influence work-family conflict (WFC) in the evening. We collected data from 98 full-time employees (793 day-level observations) for 10 consecutive workdays to understand employees' work-nonwork interface experiences, namely, negative spillover and role conflict. First, we examined a multilevel mediation model to test the negative spillover effect of on-the-job ICT demands on WFC in the evening via negative affect (NA) at the end of the workday. Second, we investigated the effects of off-the-job ICT demands on WFC to provide evidence of role conflict in the nonwork domain. Further, we tested the protective role of boundary control in these phenomena. The multilevel analysis results revealed that different types of ICT demands experienced at work have idiosyncratic impacts on WFC. Also, while extended availability after work hours yields greater WFC, this link was weaker for the employees who perceive high boundary control.

The Moderating Role of Parental Strain on the Relationship Between Child Media Use and Regulation.

Research suggests that toddlers with regulation issues engage in significantly more media use than toddlers without regulation difficulties, and this may be due, in part, to parental strain associated with parenting a child who is difficult to regulate or soothe. The current study sought to determine if the observed relationship between parental strain and child media use in the context of regulation difficulties continues into the preschool years. Data from the 2016 (N = 6,976) and 2017 (N = 3,056) National Survey of Children's Health were used to test a structural equation model (SEM) examining the moderating effect of parenting strain on the relationship between child media use and child regulation after controlling for socioeconomic status (SES) and adverse childhood experiences. The SEM had reasonable model fit. The study did not find a moderating effect for parenting strain but did identify a small significant relationship between child media use and regulation after controlling for parenting strain and SES. Additionally, SES proved to be a strong moderator of regulation and child media use. These findings point to the possibility that the relationship between parental strain and child media use may be more directly related to perceived ability to calm their child identified in previous research rather than perception of child's difficulty. This study demonstrated that the negative link between child media use and regulation may persist into the preschool years. Limitations of the study include broad items used to assess time spent with media and limited depth of questions associated with regulation and parenting strain.

The development of a questionnaire to assess leisure time screen-based media use and its proximal correlates in children (SCREENS-Q).

BACKGROUND: The screen-media landscape has changed drastically during the last decade with wide-scale ownership and use of new portable touchscreen-based devices plausibly causing changes in the volume of screen media use and the way children and young people entertain themselves and communicate with friends and family members. This rapid development is not sufficiently mirrored in available tools for measuring children's screen media use. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a parent-reported standardized questionnaire to assess 6-10-year old children's multiple screen media use and habits, their screen media environment, and its plausible proximal correlates based on a suggested socio-ecological model. METHODS: An iterative process was conducted developing the SCREENS questionnaire. Informed by the literature, media experts and end-users, a conceptual framework was made to guide the development of the questionnaire. Parents and media experts evaluated face and content validity. Pilot and field testing in the target group was conducted to assess test-retest reliability using Kappa statistics and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Construct validity of relevant items was assessed using pairwise non-parametric correlations (Spearman's). The SCREENS questionnaire is based on a multidimensional and formative model. RESULTS: The SCREENS questionnaire covers six domains validated to be important factors of screen media use in children and comprises 19 questions and 92 items. Test-retest reliability (n = 37 parents) for continuous variables was moderate to substantial with ICC's ranging from 0.67 to 0.90. For relevant nominal and ordinal data, kappa values were all above 0.50 with more than 80% of the values above 0.61 indicating good test-retest reliability. Internal consistency between two different time use variables (from n = 243) showed good correlations with rho ranging from 0.59 to 0.66. Response-time was within 15 min for all participants. CONCLUSIONS: SCREENS-Q is a comprehensive tool to assess children's screen media habits, the screen media environment and possible related correlates. It is a feasible questionnaire with multiple validated constructs and moderate to substantial test-retest reliability of all evaluated items. The SCREENS-Q is a promising tool to investigate children screen media use.