impact of TV on ADHD development
- Discussion Prompt 1
How do you use statistics in your work as a nurse or healthcare provider? Find and discuss at least two examples of how statistics are used in your field. Do you feel like statistics are a vital part of the nursing field? Why or why not?
- Discussion Prompt 2
Read the short article below. Does this study indicate a strong link between TV watching and the incidence of ADHD? Why or why not? What questions do you have about the study after reading the article?
A long term study on the impact of TV on ADHD development was recently published.
Researchers in New Zealand found that kids who watched more than 2 hours of TV per day between ages 5 and 11 were significantly more likely to develop symptoms of attention deficit disorder (ADHD) than those who watched less.
“Those who watched more than two hours, and particularly those who watched more than three hours, of television per day during childhood had above-average symptoms of attention problems in adolescence,” Carl Landhuis of the University of Otago in Dunedin wrote in his report, published in the journal Pediatrics.
Young children who watched a lot of television were more likely to continue the habit as they got older, but even if they did not the damage was done, the report said.
“Hence, children who watch a lot of television may become less tolerant of slower-paced and more mundane tasks, such as school work,” the researchers wrote.
The most interesting part of the article was the possible explanations for why this relationship exists. The researchers thought (a) rapid scene changes influence brain development, and (b) television replaced other activities like reading — activities that require attention development.
This is a pretty old idea about ADHD, but I think this new data can shore-up some of those concerns.
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