Home and socioeconomic factors associated with preschool screen time in Japan

Researchers conducted a cross-sectional secondary analysis of the fifth wave of Japan’s Longitudinal Survey of Newborns in the 21st Century, using 2014 data for 19,577 children aged 4 years and 6 months from two-parent households. Television viewing and electronic game-playing time were modeled together as a latent screen-time measure, and exploratory structural equation models assessed associations with socioeconomic status, parenting-related perceptions, and parental involvement.

More than 30% of children watched television for at least 3 hours daily, while 63.9% did not usually play electronic games. The selected model explained 50% of the variance in screen time. Socioeconomic status had the largest standardized total association (−0.550); parenting-related perceptions and maternal and paternal involvement also showed modeled associations, with smaller magnitudes.

The findings describe associations, not causal effects, and the analysis was limited to complete cases in two-parent households. Because the data are from 2014 and cover television and electronic games rather than contemporary total screen use, they should be treated as a historical reference. The study does not establish that changing household factors would reduce screen time.