Applied Psychology

Applied Psychology

Assessment of Developmental Indicators in Children Aged 24 to 38 Months in Relation to Screen Exposure: A Cross Sectional Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Seyed Saeid Sajjadi Anari 1
Masoome Zabeti Arani 2
Maryam Akbari Saryazdi 3
Soraya Alavinezhad 4
Morteza Valaei 5
1 2. Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
2 Department of psychology and education of exceptional children
3 Clinical family psychology-family institute -University of Shahid Beheshti- Tehran/Iran
4 Department of psychology and education of exceptional children - faculty of psychology and educational sciences-University of Tehran-Tehran/Iran
5 University of Alamme Tabatabaei - Tehran/Iran
10.48308/apsy.2026.243245.1966
Abstract
Aim: With the rapid expansion of digital technologies, early screen exposure has become a growing concern in developmental research. This study aimed to evaluate developmental indicators in children aged 24 to 38 months who were regularly exposed to screen media.
Method: A quantitative, descriptive, cross‑sectional design was employed. The study population included children aged 24 to 38 months who attended two counseling centers in Tehran in 2024 and were exposed to screen media for more than one hour per day. Using simple random sampling, 134 children were selected. Data were collected through the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Third Edition (ASQ‑3; Squires & Bricker, 2009), the Screen Media Questionnaire (Klakk et al., 2020), clinical interviews with parents, and direct observation of each child by specialists. For data analysis, a one‑sample t‑test was conducted for the 27‑ and 36‑month age groups, and the nonparametric one‑sample Wilcoxon test was used for the 33‑month group. Analyses were performed using SPSS‑27.
Results: Results showed that children scored significantly below the cutoff points across all developmental domains (p < 0.001). The greatest decline was observed in the problem‑solving domain, while the smallest decline occurred in fine motor skills.
Conclusion: Overall, the findings indicate that children with daily screen exposure exceeding one hour demonstrated reduced performance in all developmental domains, with the widest gap appearing in problem‑solving abilities. These results underscore the need for careful monitoring and management of screen use during early childhood to promote healthy developmental trajectories.
Keywords
ASQ3TM
Developmental Indicators
Problem Solving
Screen Exposure
Toddlers
Subjects
Aghamohseni, H., Khosravi, Z. and Tavoli, A. (2025). Investigating the
Mediating role of Using Screens in the Relationship Between Parent's Reflective Function and Cognitive Skills in Preschool Children. Applied Psychology, 19(4), 58-84.
        doi: 10.48308/apsy.2025.241549.1900[Link]
Hasanzadeh, S., & Ghadami, M. (2019). Persian version of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires, Third Edition (ASQ-3™️). Tehran: Exceptional Education Organization of Iran.
Delavar, A. (2025). Probabilities and applied statistics in psychology and educational sciences. Tehran: Roshd Publishing. [Link]
American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Communications and Media. (2016). Media and Young Minds. Pediatrics. 138(5): e20162591 [Link]
Babbie, E. R. (2016). The practice of social research. Cengage learning
        [Link]
Bolten, M., & Unternaehrer, E. (2025). Digital media use in early childhood—contextual factors, developmental outcomes, and pathways. Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 4, 1627511. [Link]
Chang, H. Y., Park, E. J., Yoo, H. J., Won Lee, J., & Shin, Y. (2018). Electronic media exposure and use among toddlers. Psychiatry Investigation, 15(6), 568–573.[Link]
Christakis, D. A. (2014). Interactive media use at younger than the age of 2 years: Time to rethink the American Academy of Pediatrics guideline? JAMA Pediatrics, 168(5), 399–400.[link]
 
Fardouly, J., Magson, N. R., Johnco, C. J., Oar, E. L., & Rapee, R. M. (2018). Parental control of the time preadolescents spend on social media: Links with preadolescents’ social media appearance comparisons and mental health. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47(7), 1456–1468.[link]
Goode, J. A., Fomby, P., Mollborn, S., & Limburg, A. (2020). Children’s technology time in two US cohorts. Child Indicators Research, 13(3), 1107–1132. [Link]
Gollenberg, A. L., Lynch, C. D., Jackson, L. W., McGuinness, B. M., & Msall, M. E. (2010). Concurrent validity of the parent-completed Ages and Stages Questionnaires, 2nd ed. with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II in a low-risk sample. Child: Care, Health and Development, 36(4), 485–490. [link]
Gueron-Sela, N., Shalev, I., Gordon-Hacker, A., Egotubov, A., & Barr, R. (2023). Screen media exposure and behavioral adjustment in early childhood during and after COVID-19 home lockdown periods. Computers in Human Behavior, 140, 107572. [link]
Hirsh-Pasek, K., Zosh, J. M., Golinkoff, R. M., Gray, J. H., Robb, M. B., & Kaufman, J. (2015). Putting education in “educational” apps: Lessons from the science of learning. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 16(1), 3–34. [link]
Hutton, J. S., Dudley, J., Horowitz-Kraus, T., DeWitt, T., & Holland, S. K. (2020). Associations between screen-based media use and brain white matter integrity in preschool-aged children. JAMA Pediatrics, 174(1), e193869. [link]
Kabali, H. K., Irigoyen, M. M., Nunez-Davis, R., Budacki, J. G., Mohanty, S. H., Leister, K. P., & Bonner, R. L. (2015). Exposure and use of mobile media devices by young children. Pediatrics, 136(6), 1044–1050. [link]
Kar, S. S., Dube, R., Goud, B. K. M., Gibrata, Q. S., El-Balbissi, A. A., Al Salim, T. A., & Fatayerji, R. N. M. A. K. (2025). Impact of screen time on development of children. Children, 12(10), 1297. [link]
Kerai, S., Almas, A., Guhn, M., Forer, B., & Oberle, E. (2022). Screen time and developmental health: Results from an early childhood study in Canada. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 310. [link]
Klakk, H., Wester, C. T., Olesen, L. G., Rasmussen, M. G., Kristensen, P. L., Pedersen, J., & Grøntved, A. (2020). The development of a questionnaire to assess leisure time screen-based media use and its proximal correlates in children (SCREENS-Q). BMC Public Health, 20(1), 664. [link]
Li, C., Cheng, G., Sha, T., Cheng, W., & Yan, Y. (2020). The relationships between screen use and health indicators among infants, toddlers, and preschoolers: A meta-analysis and systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(19), 7324. [link]
Lillard, A. S., Drell, M. B., Richey, E. M., Boguszewski, K., & Smith, E. D. (2015). Further examination of the immediate impact of television on children’s executive function. Developmental Psychology, 51(6), 792–805. [link]
Lucena Martins, C. M. D., Clark, C. C. T., Ribeiro Bandeira, P. F., Mota, J., & Duncan, M. J. (2020). Association between compliance with the 24-hour movement guidelines and fundamental movement skills in preschoolers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(15), 5443. [link]
MacGowan, T. L., & Schmidt, L. A. (2021). Preschoolers' social cognitive development in the age of screen time ubiquity. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 24(2), 141–144. [link]
McArthur, B. A., Tough, S., & Madigan, S. (2022). Screen time and developmental and behavioral outcomes for preschool children. Pediatric Research, 91(6), 1616–1621. [link]
McArthur, B. A., Volkova, V., Tomopoulos, S., & Madigan, S. (2022). Global prevalence of meeting screen time guidelines among children 5 years and younger: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 176(4), 373–383. [link]
Medawar, J., Tabullo, Á. J., & Gago‐Galvagno, L. G. (2023). Early language outcomes in Argentinean toddlers: Associations with home literacy, screen exposure and joint media engagement. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 41(1), 13–30. [link]
Moon, J. H., Cho, S. Y., Lim, S. M., Roh, J. H., Koh, M. S., Kim, Y. J., & Nam, E. (2019). Smart device usage in early childhood is differentially associated with fine motor and language development. Acta Paediatrica, 108(5), 903–910. [link]
Neville, R. D., McArthur, B. A., Eirich, R., Lakes, K. D., & Madigan, S. (2021). Bi-directional associations between screen time and children’s externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 62(12), 1475–1484. [link]
Nobre, J. N. P., Santos, J. N., Santos, L. R., Guedes, S. D. C., Pereira, L., Costa, J. M., & Morais, R. L. D. S. (2021). Determining factors in children’s screen time in early childhood. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 26, 1127–1136. [link]
Rocha, H. A. L., Correia, L. L., Leite, Á. J. M., et al. (2021). Screen time and early childhood development in Ceará, Brazil: A population-based study. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 2072. [link]
Roseberry, S., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (2014). Skype me! Socially contingent interactions help toddlers learn language. Child Development, 85(3), 956–970. [link]
Singh, A., Yeh, C. J., & Blanchard, S. B. (2017). Ages and Stages Questionnaire: A global screening scale. Boletín Médico del Hospital Infantil de México, 74(1), 5–12. [link]
Skaug, S., Englund, K. T., Saksvik‐Lehouillier, I., Lydersen, S., & Wichstrøm, L. (2018). Parent–child interactions during traditional and interactive media settings. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 59(2), 135–145. [link]
Sugiyama, M., Tsuchiya, K. J., Okubo, Y., et al. (2023). Outdoor play as a mitigating factor in the association between higher screen time and neurodevelopmental outcomes. JAMA Pediatrics, 177(3), 303–310. [link]
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2018). Using multivariate statistics (7th ed.). Pearson. [link]
Vink, J. M., Van Beijsterveldt, T. C., Huppertz, C., Bartels, M., & Boomsma, D. I. (2016). Heritability of compulsive internet use in adolescents. Addiction Biology, 21(2), 460–468. [link]
Webster, E. K., Martin, C. K., & Staiano, A. E. (2019). Fundamental motor skills, screen-time, and physical activity in preschoolers. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 8(2), 114–121. [link]
Weisleder, A., & Fernald, A. (2013). Talking to children matters: Early language experience strengthens processing and builds vocabulary. Psychological Science, 24(11), 2143–2152. [link]
World Health Organization. (2019). Guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5 years of age. [link]
Yiyun, C. (2026). The impact of screen-based media exposure on infant and toddler development: A systematic review of psychological and behavioral domains. Acta Psychologica, 266, 106438. [Link]
Zhao, J., Yu, Z., Sun, X., et al. (2022). Association between screen time trajectory and early childhood development in children in China. JAMA Pediatrics, 176(8), 768–775. [link]