There Is No Meaningful Relationship Between Television Exposure and Symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
- 1 March 2006
- journal article
- Published by American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in PEDIATRICS
- Vol. 117 (3), 665-672
- https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2005-0863
Abstract
OBJECTIVE. The recent but methodologically limited longitudinal study of the adverse attentional effects of television viewing in early childhood suggests a possible association. The purpose of the present study was to extend this investigation to a more current sample of kindergarten students using structural equation modeling, which allows for the simultaneous evaluation of predictors. METHODS. Two samples were randomly selected from nationally representative data collected from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. A structural equation model was developed positing a relationship between kindergartners' television exposure and subsequent first-grade symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) while controlling for variables related to socioeconomic status and parent involvement. Variables were selected rather than developed and do not include an acceptable measure of ADHD, which limited the scope of the measures used. The model was tested by using the first sample and then cross-validated to the second sample. RESULTS. Although the adequate fit of the model to the data suggests that children's television exposure during kindergarten was related to symptoms of ADHD during the first grade, the amount of variance accounted for in the ADHD-symptoms variable revealed television exposure as a weak predictor of later ADHD symptoms. Effect sizes for the relationship between television exposure and symptoms of ADHD were close to zero and not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS. Methodologic issues, including participant age, the measurement of ADHD symptoms, and evaluation of the importance of variables, may explain the differences between the present study and the results of others who have found television exposure to be related to attention problems. The measurement of ADHD symptoms through the use of longitudinal databases is an important limitation, because only a small number of items can be selected to represent symptoms. Future research is necessary to address these issues.Keywords
This publication has 17 references indexed in Scilit:
- The history of adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderPsychiatric Clinics of North America, 2004
- Distraction Effects of Background Soap Operas on Homework Performance: An experimental study enriched with observational dataEducational Psychology, 2003
- A review of the biological bases of ADHD: What have we learned from imaging studies?Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 2003
- Comprehension of Televised Stories by Preschool Children With ADHDJournal of Clinical Child Psychology, 1999
- Media EducationPEDIATRICS, 1999
- Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternativesStructural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 1999
- Child Development and NeuroscienceChild Development, 1997
- Visual Attention to and Comprehension of Television in Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disordered and Normal BoysChild Development, 1992
- Parenting Stress and the Child With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderJournal of Clinical Child Psychology, 1990
- Estimates of Young Children's Time with Television: A Methodological Comparison of Parent Reports with Time-Lapse Video Home ObservationChild Development, 1985