Longitudinal association between smartphone ownership and depression among schoolchildren under COVID-19 pandemic

• Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Vol. 57; no. 2; pp. 239 - 243
• Main Authors: Adachi, Masaki, Takahashi, Michio, Shinkawa, Hiroki, Mori, Hiroyuki, Nishimura, Tomoko, Nakamura, Kazuhiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.02.2022; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analysis; Brief Report; Child; Child development; Child psychopathology; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Depression - epidemiology; Depression, Mental; Elementary school students; Epidemiology; Health aspects; Humans; Medical colleges; Medical screening; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental depression; Mental health; Ownership; Pandemics; Psychiatry; Risk analysis; Risk factors; SARS-CoV-2; Smart phones; Smartphone; Smartphones; COVID-19; Screen time; Depression; Schoolchildren; Smartphone
• ISSN: 0933-7954; 1433-9285
• DOI: 10.1007/s00127-021-02196-5

Under the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns regarding prolonged screen time and mental health effects in children have increased. We examined the association of depression with smartphone ownership in school children at four time points: September 2019, July 2020, December 2020, and March 2021. The analysis revealed an interaction between group and time, indicating that depressive symptoms among smartphone owners were significantly more severe than in the other group. These results were clearer for fourth-year students, pointing that smartphone possession at younger ages may be a risk factor for mental health in the new lifestyle caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.