Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Investigating the association between children’s screen media exposure and vocabulary size in the UK. / Taylor, Gemma; Monaghan, P.; Westermann, G.
In: Journal of Children and Media, Vol. 12, No. 1, 01.01.2018, p. 51-65.Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Investigating the association between children’s screen media exposure and vocabulary size in the UK
AU - Taylor, Gemma
AU - Monaghan, P.
AU - Westermann, G.
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - Children are growing up in a digital age with increasing exposure to television and touchscreen devices. We tested whether exposure to screen media is associated with children’s early language development. One hundred and thirty-one highly educated caregivers of UK children aged 6–36 months completed a media exposure questionnaire and vocabulary measure. 99% of children were read to daily, 82% watched television, and 49% used mobile touchscreen devices daily. Regression analyses revealed that time spent reading positively predicted vocabulary comprehension and production scores at 6–18 months, but time spent engaging with television or mobile touchscreen devices was not associated with vocabulary scores. Critically, correlations revealed that time spent reading or engaging with other non-screen activities was not offset by time spent engaging with television or mobile touchscreen devices. Thus, there was no evidence to suggest that screen media exposure adversely influenced vocabulary size in our sample of highly educated families with moderate media use.
AB - Children are growing up in a digital age with increasing exposure to television and touchscreen devices. We tested whether exposure to screen media is associated with children’s early language development. One hundred and thirty-one highly educated caregivers of UK children aged 6–36 months completed a media exposure questionnaire and vocabulary measure. 99% of children were read to daily, 82% watched television, and 49% used mobile touchscreen devices daily. Regression analyses revealed that time spent reading positively predicted vocabulary comprehension and production scores at 6–18 months, but time spent engaging with television or mobile touchscreen devices was not associated with vocabulary scores. Critically, correlations revealed that time spent reading or engaging with other non-screen activities was not offset by time spent engaging with television or mobile touchscreen devices. Thus, there was no evidence to suggest that screen media exposure adversely influenced vocabulary size in our sample of highly educated families with moderate media use.
KW - Children
KW - vocabulary
KW - screen media
KW - television
KW - touchscreen
U2 - 10.1080/17482798.2017.1365737
DO - 10.1080/17482798.2017.1365737
M3 - Journal article
VL - 12
SP - 51
EP - 65
JO - Journal of Children and Media
JF - Journal of Children and Media
IS - 1
ER -