ADHD and Screen Media

Katlin Burley and Jose Campos

University of Texas at San Antonio

Background

DSM-IV definition of ADHD & Definition of “Screen Media”

Specifically looking at screen media usage and ADHD prevalence/awareness

Previous Studies

Current views and controversies

The Research Question(s)

Is there a relationship between awareness of ADHD and rates of ADHD diagnosis?

Does screen media have an impact on the opinions and incident rates of ADHD diagnoses in children?

How does media impact the developing brain?

Is there a relationship between number of hours of screen media ad attention deficits?

Overview of the Research Hypotheses:

- Increased awareness of ADHD leads to higher rates of ADHD diagnosis.

- Increased screen media usage is positively correlated with increased ADHD diagnoses.

- Exposure to screen media at a younger age increases the likelihood of attention deficits later in life.

General Social Survey variables:

- Hours per day watching TV

- What does R know about ADHD? (verbatim)

- ADHD Real?

GSS Variable 1

Summary Statistics

NAP: 50102No Answer: 12

Valid Cases: 906Mean: 16.898 Std.Dev.: 24.675 N: 918

Median: 7.000 Variance: 608.842 Missing: 5614399% confidence interval +/- mean: 14.799 to 18.99795% confidence interval +/- mean: 15.301 to 18.495

GSS Variable 2

TVHOURS -- HOURS PER DAY WATCHING TV

Value: -1 Freq.: 0 0.0%

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10000

-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

 Mean: 2.971 Std.Dev.: 2.353 N: 33855Median: 2.000 Variance: 5.538 Missing: 23206

99% confidence interval +/- mean: 2.938 to 3.00495% confidence interval +/- mean: 2.946 to 2.996

Research Design and Methods Looked at previous studies and the variables compared to assess what variables

have a positive correlation with attentional deficits

Conducted supplemental research in order to draw conclusions about the data observed in analyzed studies and GSS variables

Controls

Tests Used to Assess Attentional Deficits

- ACTeRS

- Barkley’s (1991) Restricted Academic Situation coding system (Observ)

- Distractibility/Hyperactivity scale (DI) of the Parenting Stress Index, Third edition

- Stroop Color Word Test

- Self-Report diary (by students)

- Parent report

The Results The amount of television a child views is significantly related to teacher ratings of attentional difficulties (ACTeRS)

However….

There was no significant relationship found between the amount of time a child watches television and :

-Parent ratings of attentional difficulty behaviors

-Classroom observations of attentional difficulty behaviors

-Performance on standardized tests

Type of show did not relate to attentional outcome variable

Stroop results support the hypothesis that TV induces a state of arousal, an expectation of entertainment, and subsequent boredom in a less constantly stimulating classroom

- So ADHD is more behavior related than cognitive processing?

Canonical Correlation Between Attention Variables and Television

ViewingSet 1

Sample Size: 70 Fourth and Fifth Grade Students(Levine and Waite)

Canonical Correlation Between Attention Variables and Television

ViewingSet 2

Sample Size: 70 Fourth and Fifth Grade Students(Levine and Waite)

Data TablesACTeRS

Observ Stroop

DI TVTime

ActAd

ACTeRS 1.00 -.46 -.13 -.22 -.40 -.16

Observ 1.00 -.02 .11 -.10 .19

Stroop 1.00 .09 -.13 -.13

DI 1.00 .00 .04

TVTime 1.00 .46

ActAd 1.00

Mean 47.70

19.85 51.15

37.67

0.04 4.24

SD** 7.69 11.45 10.57

29.18

0.84 3.48

Min 17.50

3.00 1.80 3.00 -1.55 0.00

Max 57.50

56.00 77.40

99.00

2.15 20.00

Variable Canonical Loading

Standardized Coefficient

Set 1

ACTeRS .86 1.10

Observ -.16 .33

Stroop .26 .39

DI .02 .19

Set 2

TVTime -.99 -1.06

ActAd -.34 0.14

Represents Charts on Slides 7 and 8

Sample Size: 70 Fourth and Fifth Grade StudentsStandard Deviation on chart: SD**

(Levine and Waite)

Research Questions Revisited

Is there a relationship between awareness of ADHD and rates of ADHD diagnosis?

Does screen media have an impact on the opinions and incident rates of ADHD diagnoses in children?

How does media impact the developing brain?

Is there a relationship between number of hours of screen media ad attention deficits?

ConclusionOverall,

Screen media has been shown to be positively correlated with attention deficits and ADHD.

Hypotheses

- Increased awareness of ADHD leads to higher rates of ADHD diagnosis. SUPPORTED

- Increased screen media usage is positively correlated with increased ADHD diagnoses. SUPPORTED

- Exposure to screen media at a younger age increases the likelihood of attention deficits later in life. SUPPORTED

Significance to the field

Next Steps

Further Research

Parts of the research that need to be refined or repeated

Bibliography American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of

mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.

Christakis, D.A., et al. Early television exposure and subsequent attentional problems in children. Pediatrics 2004; 113: 708-713.

Courage, M.L., and Howe, M.L., (2010). To watch or not to watch: Infants and toddlers in a brave new electronic world. Developmental Review, 30, 101-115.

Krosnick, Jon, (1999) A Survey Research, Annual Review of Psychology. Retrieved from http://www3.norc.org/GSS+Website/Browse+GSS+Variables/Subject+Index/

Levine, L.E., and Waite, B.M. (2000). Television viewing and attentional abilities in fourth and fifth grade children. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 21(6), 667-679.

McLeod, Jane D., Fettes, Danielle, Jensen, Peter (2002) Public Knowledge and Attitudes about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Retrieved from http://www3.norc.org/GSS+Website/Browse+GSS+Variables/ Subject+Index/

Ray, M., Jat, R.K., (2010). Effect of electronic media on children. Indian Pediatrics, 47, 561-568.

Swing, E.L., et al. (2010). Television and video game exposure and the development of attention problems. Pediatrics, 126(2), 214-222.