248 - Neighborhood Environment and Infant Media Exposure: Buffering Effects of the VIP Parenting Intervention

Poster Number: 248
Publication Number: 248.1214

Background: Excessive screen time in infants and very young children has been associated with overweight/obesity, sleep disturbances, aggressive behavior, and long-term difficulties with behavioral and emotional functioning. The neighborhood environment is a critical factor in children’s screen time; previous research indicates that preschool children living in low SES neighborhoods spend more time on screens, that neighborhood disorder predicts screen use in older children, and that positive parent perceptions of the neighborhood are associated with more physical activity and less screen time. This may be particularly important in communities that have faced chronic disinvestment, such as Flint, MI. Interventions focused on early relational health (ERH) and the cognitive home environment, such as the Video Interaction Project (VIP), may be effective in mitigating the effects of the neighborhood on children’s screen time, as these factors are associated with reduced screen time.

Objective: To examine the association of neighborhood physical disorder and infant screen time in Flint, and to determine whether the VIP intervention moderates this association.

Design/Methods: Data collected at enrollment and infant age 9m as part of ongoing RCT (n=195; Table 1). Primary predictor: High vs low perceived neighborhood disorder. Primary outcomes: parent-reported infant screen time (min/day). Moderator: Group assignment (VIP vs. control). Covariates: birth order, race/ethnicity, marital status, parent education.

Results: Regression analyses indicated that perceived neighborhood disorder predicted infant screen time, β=-.18, p<.05. When an interaction term between neighborhood disorder and group assignment was added to the model, it was significant, β=.35, p=.05. Subgroup analyses indicated that perceived neighborhood disorder predicted increased screen time only among families in the control group, β=.29, p<.01 vs β=.03, p=.82 in the VIP group (Figure 1).

Conclusion(s): Results have important implications for implementation of preventive interventions as well as public policy. Although parents’ perceptions of their neighborhood environment may lead them to spend more time on indoor activities, such as screen time, interventions that focus on ERH and promoting the cognitive home environment may enable parents to engage in more interactive activities within the home; future research will examine these potential mechanisms. Findings suggest that pediatricians should seek to understand the neighborhoods where patients live, and support a potential role for interventions like VIP in buffering effects of neighborhoods on families.