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oai:figshare.com:article/34039971 2026-10-01T05:45:01Z category_393 portal_316 item_type_3 month_year_10_2026

Table 2_Association between discretionary screen time and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents: a cross-sectional study.docx Zhi Xu (270587) Shuye Yang (18179914) Shibin Wang (2180660) Xing Wang (154377) Foetal Development and Medicine adolescents Chinese adolescents cross-sectional study depressive symptoms discretionary screen time Background<p>Adolescents globally exhibit growing engagement with discretionary screen time, but its association with depressive symptoms remains unclear in developing economies.</p>Objective<p>To examine the relationship between discretionary screen time and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents.</p>Methods<p>A cross-sectional study of 4,706 adolescents in Maoming City, Guangdong Province, China. Participants were stratified into four discretionary screen time categories: <1 h (n = 1,372), 1–2 h (n = 1,277), 2–4 h (n = 1,032), and ≥4 h (n = 1,025). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the validated CESD-9, with a cutoff score of ≥10. The primary analysis was a multilevel logistic regression model with random intercepts for school and class, adjusted for all measured covariates except BMI, anxiety and insomnia; a model additionally adjusted for BMI, anxiety and insomnia served as a sensitivity analysis. Subgroup analyses evaluated potential effect modification.</p>Results<p>The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 29.7% (1,398/4,706). In the primary multilevel model (random intercepts for school and class; adjusted for sociodemographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors, without BMI, anxiety and insomnia), compared with the <1 h reference group, the odds ratios were 1.21 (95% CI: 0.98–1.49; p = 0.082) for 1–2 h, 1.88 (95% CI: 1.52–2.33; p < 0.001) for 2–4 h, and 2.54 (95% CI: 2.04–3.16; p < 0.001) for ≥4 h; each screen-time category increment was associated with 39% higher odds of depressive symptoms (OR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.29–1.49; p < 0.001). When additionally adjusted for BMI, anxiety and insomnia (sensitivity analysis, Model 4), the associations were attenuated but remained statistically significant for the higher categories (≥4 h: OR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.28–2.22; per-category OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.09–1.29). Subgroup analyses revealed no statistically significant evidence of effect modification (all p-interaction >0.05).</p>Conclusion<p>Prolonged discretionary screen time is significantly associated with higher odds of depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents, indicating a graded association that strengthens with increasing screen time. These findings are relevant to public-health monitoring of discretionary screen use in adolescents.</p> 2026-10-01T05:45:01Z Dataset Dataset 10.3389/fped.2026.1957282.s003 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Table_2_Association_between_discretionary_screen_time_and_depressive_symptoms_in_Chinese_adolescents_a_cross-sectional_study_docx/34039971 CC BY 4.0