Tarun R Katapally1,2,3, Audur Sjofn Thorisdottir4, Rachel Laxer5, Scott T Leatherdale5. 1. Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. 2. Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. 3. Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. 4. Department of Psychology, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. 5. School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Screen time, a proxy for sedentary behaviours, has emerged as a critical health determinant among youth in contemporary societies, where most aspects of youth life involve access to screen-time devices. An understudied approach to reducing screen time among youth is bullying reduction. This study aims to understand the association between bullying perpetration, victimization, youth perception of the school environment and multiple screen-time behaviours. METHODS: A total of 44,861 youth aged between 13 and 18 years in two Canadian provinces completed a validated questionnaire that collected student data on health behaviours and outcomes, including multiple screen-time behaviours, bullying perpetration and victimization, and school connectedness. The outcome variables were total screen time, time spent watching television, playing video games, internet surfing, and communication- based screen-time behaviours. Using a random intercept, the final models were built using PROC MIXED in SAS 9.4. These models were adjusted for age, ethnicity, weekly disposable income, daylight hours, and weather variables. RESULTS: Compared to youth who reported non-involvement in bullying, youth who were bullies, victims, or both bullies and victims spent on average more minutes per day in front of screens across all screen time categories. Youth who felt happy and safe at school, and who perceived their teachers as being fair, reported lower levels of multiple screen-time behaviours. CONCLUSION: With non-involvement in bullying showing a strong negative association with multiple screen-time behaviours, school policies to address bullying and screen time through school connectedness could offer a novel approach in minimizing these harmful behaviours.
INTRODUCTION: Screen time, a proxy for sedentary behaviours, has emerged as a critical health determinant among youth in contemporary societies, where most aspects of youth life involve access to screen-time devices. An understudied approach to reducing screen time among youth is bullying reduction. This study aims to understand the association between bullying perpetration, victimization, youth perception of the school environment and multiple screen-time behaviours. METHODS: A total of 44,861 youth aged between 13 and 18 years in two Canadian provinces completed a validated questionnaire that collected student data on health behaviours and outcomes, including multiple screen-time behaviours, bullying perpetration and victimization, and school connectedness. The outcome variables were total screen time, time spent watching television, playing video games, internet surfing, and communication- based screen-time behaviours. Using a random intercept, the final models were built using PROC MIXED in SAS 9.4. These models were adjusted for age, ethnicity, weekly disposable income, daylight hours, and weather variables. RESULTS: Compared to youth who reported non-involvement in bullying, youth who were bullies, victims, or both bullies and victims spent on average more minutes per day in front of screens across all screen time categories. Youth who felt happy and safe at school, and who perceived their teachers as being fair, reported lower levels of multiple screen-time behaviours. CONCLUSION: With non-involvement in bullying showing a strong negative association with multiple screen-time behaviours, school policies to address bullying and screen time through school connectedness could offer a novel approach in minimizing these harmful behaviours.
Keywords:
TV; bullying; internet surfing; school connectedness; screen time; texting; video games; youth health
Authors: Abdulbari Bener; Huda S Al-Mahdi; Pankit J Vachhani; Mohammed Al-Nufal; Awab I Ali Journal: J Child Health Care Date: 2010-09-07 Impact factor: 1.979