School Closures and the Impact on Screen Time and Behavior during the Pandemic

Abstract

The objective of the study is to examine the impact of school closures on recreational screen time, emotional, and behavioral functioning of school-going children and adolescents during the imposition of social containment measures and school closure in India. The survey utilized a Google Form that was sent to parents of children aged 6–14 years through e-mails and social media platforms. Parents were asked to report on the child’s duration of recreational screen time and whether the child’s overall behavioral functioning had changed since the school closures. The child’s emotional and behavioral functioning was assessed by the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The scores on the SDQ and screen time use were compared by overall parental behavioral rating to identify the areas of concerns for children whose functioning was reported to have worsened after the closing of schools. The mean recreational screen time was reported to be 2.65 h (standard deviation = 1.89). A significantly higher proportion of children whose behavior worsened after school closures, relative to those who improved or were same, had scores in the abnormal range of functioning on three of the subscales of SDQ including emotional problems (χ² = 29.03, P = 0.0001), hyperactivity/inattention (χ² = 24.67, P = 0.0001), conduct problems (χ² = 22.01, P = 0.0001), and overall total SDQ score (χ² = 41.20, P = 0.0001). Interventions should be aimed at encouraging outdoor physical activity while respecting government restrictions, healthy routines, pursuing hobbies, and promoting responsible use of electronic devices during the pandemic and crisis recovery period.