Analysis of the impact of screen exposure on expressive language and developmental levels in 18-month-old children in Guiyang city

Jin Lifang; Luo Yan; Shen Chengwei; Zhang Fan; Qin Huiling; Zhang Jiacai; Zhou Xin; Chen Xiuli

doi:10.11986/j.issn.1673-873X.2025.06.03

Abstract：Objective To analyze the impact of screen exposure on expressive language and developmental levels in 18-month-old children in Guiyang.Methods A total of 337 children who received regular follow-up in the infant language development cohort at Guiyang Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital from January to September 2024,and completed their 18-month follow-up,were selected as study participants.Data on their screen exposure and family background were collected.The Pu-tonghua Communicative Development Inventory-Mandarin version(PCDI)was used to assess the children's language ex-pression ability,and the Ages and Stages Questionnaire,3rd edition(ASQ-3)was used to evaluate their developmental lev-el.Stratified regression analysis was employed to analyze the effect of screen exposure on the children's expressive language and developmental levels.Results Among the study participants,282 children(83.68％)were exposed to electronic screens,while 55 children(16.32％)were not.Comparing the PCDI and ASQ-3 scores of children with different screen ex-posure,children with screen exposure had lower PCDI scores than those without screen exposure(P＜0.05).Children with background TV at home had lower ASQ-3 scores in the communication,gross motor,problem-solving,and personal-social domains,as well as lower PCDI scores,compared to those without background TV at home(P＜0.05).Children who en-gaged in video chatting had higher scores in the ASQ-3 communication domain and PCDI than those who did not(P＜0.05).Differences in PCDI and ASQ-3 communication domain scores were statistically significant among children with dif-ferent durations of video chatting(P＜0.05).Children with video chatting lasting more than 30 minutes had higher scores than those with durations of 10-30 minutes or less than 10 minutes.Stratified regression analysis showed that screen expo-sure and background TV had a negative effect on the PCDI scores of the children(β=-0.242,P＜0.001;β=—0.104,P=0.036),while video chatting(β=0.105,P=0.033)and video chatting duration(β=0.161,P=0.001)had a positive effect.Background TV negatively affected the ASQ-3 communication domain scores(β=-0.194,P＜0.001)and also had a negative effect on the ASQ-3 gross motor domain scores(β=-2.023,P=0.043).Conclusion Screen exposure may have a negative impact on language development in 18-month-old children,but video chatting through electronic products may promote language development.Therefore,parents should avoid exposing children to screens alone and emphasize com-munication and interaction with their children.