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Title: Children's Television Viewing and Cognitive Outcomes: A Longitudinal Analysis of National Data
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Zimmerman, Frederick J.
Christakis, Dimitri A.
Children's Television Viewing and Cognitive Outcomes: A Longitudinal Analysis of National Data
Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 159,7 (July 2005): 619-625.
Also: http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/159/7/619
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: American Medical Association
Keyword(s): Memory for Digit Span (WISC) - also see Digit Span; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Television Viewing; Variables, Independent - Covariate

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Objective: To test the independent effects of television viewing in children before age 3 years and at ages 3 to 5 years on several measures of cognitive outcomes at ages 6 and 7 years.

Design: Using data from a nationally representative data set, we regressed 4 measures of cognitive development at ages 6 and 7 years on television viewing before age 3 years and at ages 3 to 5 years, controlling for parental cognitive stimulation throughout early childhood, maternal education, and IQ.

Results: Before age 3 years, the children in this study watched an average of 2.2 hours per day; at ages 3 to 5 years, the daily average was 3.3 hours. Adjusted for the covariates mentioned earlier, each hour of average daily television viewing before age 3 years was associated with deleterious effects on the Peabody Individual Achievement Test Reading Recognition Scale of 0.31 points (95% confidence interval [CI], –0.61 to –0.01 points), on the Peabody Individual Achievement Test Reading Comprehension Scale of 0.58 points (95% CI, –0.94 to –0.21 points), and on the Memory for Digit Span assessment from the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children of –0.10 points (95% CI, –0.20 to 0 points). For the Reading Recognition Scale score only, a beneficial effect of television at ages 3 to 5 years was identified, with each hour associated with a 0.51-point improvement in the score (95% CI, 0.17 to 0.85 points).

Conclusions: There are modest adverse effects of television viewing before age 3 years on the subsequent cognitive development of children. These results suggest that greater adherence to the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines that children younger than 2 years not watch television is warranted.

Bibliography Citation
Zimmerman, Frederick J. and Dimitri A. Christakis. "Children's Television Viewing and Cognitive Outcomes: A Longitudinal Analysis of National Data." Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 159,7 (July 2005): 619-625.