Family screen time among preschoolers with language impairment – Can these environmental factors influence the change in clinical diagnosis?

Although electronic devices have revolutionized communication, „screen time“ affects the quantity and quality of interactions between children and their caregivers (Gath et al., 2023). According to interactionist theory, it is precisely these interactions that shape language development, and therefore it is crucial to identify the mechanisms of “screen time” influence and contextual factors that can prevent and/or mitigate harmful effects. Contextual factors such as the quality and type of interactions with caregivers during and after “screen time”, caregivers` screen habits (Wong et al., 2020), and the characteristics of children exposure itself (age of onset, type of screen, and type of content) together influence language outcomes in preschool children and should be considered within the framework of the construct called "family screen time". The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between „family screen time“ and changes in clinical diagnosis for children with language difficulties in preschool age. The sample of respondents will include 150 children included in complex rehabilitation program based on the verbotonal method. At the beginning of the rehabilitation program, according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), the clinical diagnosis of all respondents was Receptive Language Disorder (F80.2). After six months, for many respondents, a repeated diagnostic assessment determined a change in clinical diagnosis to Expressive Language Disorder (F80.1). Given that all subjects were included in the same rehabilitation program under the same diagnosis, the question arises whether certain environmental factors, such as “family screen time” are correlated with significant change in clinical diagnosis. Their parents will complete the “Media Assessment Questionnaire” (Barr et al., 2020), translated into Croatian. It is hypothesized that the change in clinical diagnosis would be associated with less daily screen time for children and for their parents, and with the type of screens and content to which children are exposed. It is also assumed that the change will be related to the greater amount of parental interaction during and after “screen time“. The purpose of the research is to advance knowledge about environmental factors that may be associated with rehabilitation outcomes in children with language impairments.