The Independent and Cumulative Effects of Screen Exposure on Suicidal Ideation in Chinese Adolescents with Depressive Symptoms

Introduction: This study aims to examine the independent and cumulative effects of unhealthy screen exposure on suicidal ideation (SI) in Chinese adolescents with depressive symptoms.

Method: A total of 350 adolescents (33.7% males; ages 10-19) completed the Screen Exposure Questionnaire, the Children's Depression Inventory, and the Ottawa Self-Injury Scale. Binary logistic regression analysis models were used to analyze the independent risk effect of screen exposure on SI. A cumulative risk model for screen exposure to SI in adolescents was constructed using restricted cubic splines.

Results: Adolescents who experienced excessive screen time and frequency, mealtime exposure, bedtime exposure, and early screen exposure were significantly associated with the occurrence of SI, and the risk increased nonlinearly with the number of exposures (P_nonlinear = .03).

Discussion: Efforts should be made to reduce adolescents' screen exposure to prevent SI.