Children

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hermano Alexandre Lima Rocha

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

1. Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
2. Departamento de Saúde Comunitária, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil
Interests: child development; maternal and child health; global health; epidemiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Luciano Lima Correia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Community Health, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil
Interests: child development; maternal and child health; global health; epidemiology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the increasing use of digital devices and technology, children and adolescents are spending more time than ever before in front of screens. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events that can have a negative impact on a child's development and long-term health. Recent studies have shown an association between excessive screen time and ACEs, with children who spend more time in front of screens being more likely to experience ACEs such as neglect, abuse, and household dysfunction. This may be due to a range of factors, including reduced parental supervision and increased exposure to violence and other negative content online. Excessive screen time may also have a negative impact on a child's mental health, making them more vulnerable to the effects of ACEs. However, further research is needed to fully understand the complex relationship between screen time and ACEs.

Numerous studies have investigated the impact of screen time, adverse childhood experiences, and childhood mental health on child and adolescent development, and the topic has received widespread attention and citations from the scientific community. This call for publications seeks to bring together the latest research findings and explore the current state of knowledge on this important issue.

Topics of interest of this Special Issue include, but are not limited to:

The cognitive effects of screen time, adverse childhood experiences, and childhood mental health on children and adolescents;

The impact of social media use on adolescent social and emotional development;

The effects of screen time, adverse childhood experiences, and childhood mental health on sleep patterns and mental health;

The role of parental involvement and screen time, adverse childhood experiences, and childhood mental health limits on child and adolescent development;

The potential benefits and drawbacks of educational technology for young learners.

Contributions are welcomed from researchers across a range of disciplines, including psychology, neuroscience, education, and public health. We invite original research articles, reviews, and meta-analyses that add to our understanding of the impact of screen time, adverse childhood experiences, and childhood mental health on child and adolescent development.

Dr. Hermano Alexandre Lima Rocha
Dr. Luciano Lima Correia
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (1 paper)

Research

19 pages, 284 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Recognizing the Frequency of Exposure to Cyberbullying in Children: The Results of the National HBSC Study in Serbia

by Milica Kangrga, Dejan Nikolic, Milena Santric-Milicevic, Ljiljana Rakic, Tatjana Knezevic, Goran Djuricic, Jasna Stojkovic, Natasa Radosavljevic, Sladjana Mihajlovic, Biljana Medjo and Milan Lackovic

Children 2024, 11(2), 172; https://doi.org/10.3390/children11020172 - 29 Jan 2024

Viewed by 857

Abstract

Nowadays, children are able to enrich their reality via the Internet. Unfortunately, this may increase their risk of becoming victims of cyberbullying. We analyzed the health characteristics and risk behavior of two cohorts of children in Serbia; those who reported being exposed to cyberbullying and those who did not. The statistical differences and logistic regression models were applied to the data on 3267 students collected from 64 schools participating in the 2017 Serbian Study on health behavior in school-age children (HBSC). Children exposed to cyberbullying reported having the following health problems on a daily basis: headache (18.5%), back pain (19.5%), depression (21.6%), irritability or bad mood (17.7%), nervousness (16.0%), sleep problems (16.1%), and dizziness (21.2%). As for the different types of risk behavior, cigarette smoking ranging from six to nine days ever was the most prevalent (26.9%). It was followed closely by getting drunk more than 10 times ever (24.1%). Compared to non-victims, victims were found to be at a higher risk of perceived back pain (OR = 2.27), depression (OR = 1.43), irritability or bad mood (OR = 2.07), nervousness (OR = 2.23), and dizziness (OR = 2.43) as well as being injured once or twice (OR = 1.98) or three or more times (OR = 4.09). Victims were associated with further risk factors: having smoked more than five cigarettes ever in life (OR = 1.73) and having gotten drunk two to three times (OR = 1.71) or four or more times (OR = 1.65). As the number of school-age children using social media continues to rise, we must prioritize educating them about self-help and community resources for addressing related health issues with greater speed and intensity. The findings from Serbia suggest that while children may be aware of their health issues, they may be unaware of their link to cyberbullying, which could hinder their ability to address these issues promptly. The respondents’ attention to the health implications of cyberbullying could be increased by reformulating the survey questions used in the HBSC study. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Screen Time, Adverse Childhood Experiences and Childhood Mental Health on Child and Adolescent Development: Current Research and Future Directions)

► Show Figures