There is an increasing trend of mental health problems both globally and in Sweden. Moreover, in recent decades there has been an increase in screen time among adolescents. The present study aimed to examine the associations between screen time (i.e., smartphone, computer, and TV) and mental health problems among adolescents in Västmanland and to investigate if the association was different due to gender. A quantitative method with a cross-sectional design was applied. The study used secondary data from the Survey of Adolescent Life in Västmanland 2020. The sample consisted of 3880 adolescents from 9th grade in compulsory school and 2nd grade in upper secondary school. The results showed that high screen time on smartphone was associated with an increased probability for mental health problems in the total sample. In contrast, screen time on TV and computer showed no significant association with mental health problems. Thus, smartphone use was a significant contributor to mental health problems. Furthermore, for girls, high screen time on the smartphone, computer, and TV was associated with increased probability of mental health problems, whereas no significant associations were found among boys. In brief, this study’s findings suggest developing Swedish guidelines to regulate harmful effects from screen time.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mdh-55158 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Lundin-Emanuelsson, Madeleine |
| Publisher | Mälardalens högskola, Hälsa och välfärd |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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