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Journal article
Young Children’s Screen Time, Executive Functions, and Language Development: Longitudinal Moderation of Parent/Child Co-Viewing and Media Content
Developmental psychology, Vol.online ahead of print
06/22/2026
PMCID: PMC13288754
PMID: 42329718
Web of Science ID: WOS:001797576500001
Abstract
There is growing interest in how screen-based media is linked to young children’s regulatory development. However, findings on the relationship between screen time and regulatory abilities remain mixed, highlighting the need to consider additional contextual factors (e.g., Barr, 2019). This study investigated whether screen time at age two predicted hot and cold executive functions (EF) and language outcomes at age four. It also tested whether these associations were moderated by parent-child co-viewing behaviors and the type of media content children commonly consumed (educational vs. violent). Participants included 306 parent-child dyads (62% White, 22% Hispanic/Latino, 9% Black, 2% Asian, 5% mixed/other race), with 12% reporting an annual income below 20,000. Primary caregivers reported children’s screen time at age two (M = 28.13 months, SD = 6.84), and children’s EF and language were assessed at age four (M = 4.07 years, SD = 4.0 months) using standardized assessments (e.g., NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery) and Kochanska’s effortful control/EF tasks (i.e., snack delay/whisper/night-day). Higher screen time at age two was associated with poorer performance on both hot and cold EF tasks and lower receptive vocabulary at age four. Parent-child co-viewing predicted better working memory, and higher exposure to educational content was linked to stronger EF and language outcomes. However, neither co-viewing nor educational content moderated the effects of screen time on developmental outcomes over time. In contrast, higher exposure to violent content moderated children’s attentional shifting performance. Overall, these findings suggest that early screen exposure—particularly to violent content—may negatively impact children’s cognitive/regulatory development.
Details
- Title
- Young Children’s Screen Time, Executive Functions, and Language Development
- Publication Details
- Developmental psychology, Vol.online ahead of print
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- American Psychological Association
- Number of pages
- 15
- Grant note
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health: R15HD101969, P01HD1099073, P01HD109907-02S1
This project was funded in part by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health (Grants R15HD101969, P01HD1099073, and P01HD109907-02S1) awarded to Sarah M. Coyne, Heather Kirkorian, Jenny Radesky, and Rachel F. Barr. The authors acknowledge the many families and children who participated in this study and dozens of research assistants for their help with data collection and data processing efforts.
- Copyright
- ©American Psychological Association 2026, All rights, including for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies, are reserved.
- Identifiers
- WOS:001797576500001; 99381823102106600
- Academic Unit
- Psychology; Usha Kundu, MD College of Health
- Language
- English