Chronotype and emotional/behavioral problems mediate the association between leisure screen time and academic achievement in children

ABSTRACT

Leisure screen time is associated with poor academic achievement; however, the mechanism underlying this relationship is unclear. Chronotypes and emotional/behavioral problems may be linked to this association. This study aimed to examine the associations between leisure screen time, chronotype, emotional/behavioral problems, and academic achievement using mediation analysis. A total of 113 children aged 9–12 years participated in this study. All participants were assessed for leisure screen time, chronotype, emotional/behavioral problems, and academic achievement. Leisure screen time was evaluated using a self-reported questionnaire. Chronotypes were measured using The Japanese Children’s Chronotype Questionnaire, and the morningness/eveningness (M/E) score was calculated. Emotional/behavioral problems were assessed using The Japanese Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and the total difficulties score (TDS) was calculated. Academic achievement was assessed by the homeroom teacher for each of the seven school subjects. Partial correlation analysis adjusted for grade, sex, and sleep duration indicated that leisure screen time was associated with M/E scores and academic achievement (p < 0.05). There was a positive association between M/E score and TDS (p < 0.05) and a negative association between TDS and academic achievement (p < 0.05). A mediation analysis adjusted for grade, sex, and sleep duration was performed. There was a significant total effect of leisure screen time on academic achievement (p < 0.05). Additionally, the M/E score and TDS significantly mediated the association between leisure screen time and academic achievement (p < 0.05). Our findings suggest that the serial path between chronotype and emotional/behavioral problems weakly but significantly mediates the association of leisure screen time with academic achievement.

KEYWORDS:

• Physical inactivity
• circadian rhythm
• mental health
• child behavioral disorders
• mediation analysis

Acknowledgments

We thank all children, parents, and teachers at the participating schools for their excellent cooperation during data collection. We are also grateful to Yusaku Eguchi and the research members of the K. T. laboratory for their assistance in data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Abbreviations

M/E	=	Morningness/Eveningness
SDQ	=	Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire
TDS	=	Total Difficulties Score

Author contributions

Masahiro Matsui: Investigation, Formal analysis, writing the original draft. Kaori Ishii: Writing, reviewing, and editing. Koya Suzuki: Writing, reviewing, and editing. Kenji Togashi: Project administration, writing, reviewing, and editing.

All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by a KAKENHI Grant of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science [23K16742]; the Juntendo Administration for Sports, Health, and Medical Sciences (JASMS), Juntendo University; the Institute of Health and Sports Science & Medicine, Juntendo University.