Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association between screen time and ADHD-related symptoms among school children aged 8-16 years in Quetta, Pakistan, and to assess the relationship between different types of screen content and ADHD symptom severity.
METHODS: An analytical cross-sectional study were conducted among school children aged 8-16 years from selected government and private schools in Quetta. A sample size of 500 participants were selected using multistage random sampling. Data was collected using a structured multilingual (English/Urdu/Bravi/Pashto) questionnaire, including demographic information, screen time patterns, categorized screen content (educational, gaming, amusement and social media), and ADHD symptoms assessed using the SNAP-IV rating scale. ADHD were analyzed as both a continuous and categorical variable using established cutoff scores. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 26. Pearson correlation, one-way ANOVA, and logistic regression used to determine associations, with a significance level set at p < 0.05.
RESULTS: It was observed that increased screen time were significantly associated with higher ADHD symptom scores. Exposure was more than 4 hours of daily screen time was observed to be associated with increased likelihood of ADHD-related symptoms. Additionally, different screen content types were showed varying associations, with amusement and gaming content demonstrating stronger relationships with ADHD symptoms compared to educational content.
CONCLUSIONS: It was observed a significant association between screen exposure and ADHD-related symptoms among school children. Findings provide an important evidence regarding the role of both screen duration and content type in child behavioral health and helped to guide interventions aimed at promoting healthier digital media use.