From ‘screen time’ to the digital level of analysis: protocol for a scoping review of digital media use in children and adolescents
Tim Smith,
Dillon Thomas Browne,
Shealyn May,
Pamela Hurst-Della Pietra,
Dimitri Christakis,
Tracy Asamoah,
Lauren Hale,
Katia Delrahim-Howlett,
Jennifer A Emond,
Alexander G Fiks,
Sheri Madigan,
Heather Prime,
Greg Perlman,
Hans-Jürgen Rumpf,
Darcy Thompson,
Stephen Uzzo,
Jackie Stapleton,
Ross Neville,
Rachel Barr,
Richard C. Gershon,
Courtney K. Blackwell,
Florence Breslin,
Joanne Broder,
Zsolt Demetrovics,
Bernard Fuemmeler,
John Hutton,
Diane Kim,
Heather Kirkorian,
Monique LeBourgeois,
Jessica Mendoza,
Martin Paulus,
Thomas Robinson,
Paul Weigle
Affiliations
Tim Smith
Dillon Thomas Browne
Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Shealyn May
Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Pamela Hurst-Della Pietra
Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA
Dimitri Christakis
School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Tracy Asamoah
Media Committee, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Lauren Hale
professor
Katia Delrahim-Howlett
Division of Extramural Research, National Institute on Drug Abuse, North Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Jennifer A Emond
Dartmouth College Geisel School of Medicine, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
Alexander G Fiks
Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Sheri Madigan
Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Heather Prime
Psychology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Greg Perlman
Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA
Hans-Jürgen Rumpf
Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Translational Psychiatry Unit, Research Group S:TEP, University of Luebeck, Lubeck, Germany
Darcy Thompson
School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Denver, Colorado, USA
Stephen Uzzo
New York Hall of Science, Flushing, New York, USA
Jackie Stapleton
Information Services and Resources, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Ross Neville
School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Introduction Research on the relationship between digital media exposure and child development is complex, inconsistent and fraught with debate. A highlighted area of inadequacy surrounds the methodological limitations of measuring digital media use for both researchers and clinicians, alike. This protocol aims to (1) identify core concepts in the area of screen time and digital media use in children and adolescents (2) map existing research paradigms and screening/measurement tools that serve to underpin and operationalise core concepts and (3) provide an initial step in integrating these findings into a consolidated screening toolkit. It is expected this enterprise will help advance research and clinical evaluation in fields concerned with digital media use, namely medicine, child development and the social sciences.Methods and analysis The planned scoping review will search relevant electronic databases, including Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Scopus, in addition to grey literature. All empirical investigations and presentation of original research will be considered, and measurement/screening tools for digital media usage in children and adolescents will be identified and reported on. Two reviewers will pilot test the screening criteria, and data extraction forms prior to independently screening all relevant literature and extracting the data. A three-stage synthesis process will be used to map the existent measurement and screening tools for digital media usage in children and adolescents.Ethics and dissemination There are no ethical considerations for this scoping review. Plans for dissemination include publication in a top-tier, open-access journal, public presentations and conference proceedings. Presentation of the full scoping review has been accepted to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 66th Annual Meeting.