Infant social-emotional development: The role of screen media?

This study sought to characterise screen media usage among children below two years of age in the UK, and to examine its associations with infant social-emotional functioning. Two mediational hypotheses were tested to understand the possible roles of reduced parent-infant play, and parent psychological factors that may motivate high screen usage. Based on the questionnaire responses of 327 parents of infants aged 6 - 24 months, screen media usage varied widely, including time spent on screen media (‘screen time’) and parental involvement (co-sharing and co-referencing).