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Dr Evie Stergiakouli,
Prof Claire Haworth,
Dr Oliver Davis, Dr Alexandra Havdhal
Applications accepted all year round
Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Bristol
United Kingdom
Child Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Epidemiology
Mental Health Nursing
Psychology
About the Project
Rationale
Children are now exposed to and use digital media from a very young age both for entertainment and educational purposes. Parents and clinicians are concerned about the potential harmful effects that digital media use may have on children’s mental and physical health [1,2,3]. However, most studies have been cross-sectional and have shown positive as well as negative effects (with the exception of excessive use and extreme online harmful behaviour) [4] and they have not considered the effect of digital media use on children from the general population. COVID-19 and lockdown increased digital media use for the majority of children and this has been linked to positive effects, such as increased connectedness, at the time that it was most needed [5].
Aims and Objectives
The aim of this project is to examine if digital media use is having an impact (positive or negative) on children’s mental health and explore the mechanisms behind any associations. We also aim to determine if there are sensitive windows in development or situations (such as lockdown) when digital media are most/least harmful and if there are groups of children (e.g. with pre-existing neurodevelopmental problems) that are particularly vulnerable.
Methods
The PhD student will use genetic epidemiological methods to test if digital media use is causally associated with mental health in children. Methods will include performing GWAS for digital media use, polygenic risk score analysis [5] and Multivariable Mendelian randomization [6]. These methods will be applied across large cohorts of children from the general population with mental health data across time, such as the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), the Millennium Cohort and the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).
How to apply for this project
This project will be based in Bristol Medical School - Population Health Sciences in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Bristol.
If you have secured your own sponsorship or can self-fund this PhD please visit our information page here for further information on the department of Population Health Science and how to apply.
References
1. Canadian Paediatric Society, Paediatr Child Health. 2019; 24(6): 402–408.
2. Ra CK, et al. JAMA. 2018;320(3):255–263. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.8931
3. Hoge E et al. Pediatrics. 2017;140(Suppl 2):S76-S80. doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-1758G.
4. Orben, A. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2020; 55, 407–414.
5. Widnall E et al. 24th August 2020, NIHR School for Public Health Research
6. Davey Smith G, Hemani G, Human Molecular Genetics 2014;23(R1):R89–R98, https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddu328
7. Leppert B et al. JAMA Psychiatry. 2019;76(8):834–842. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.0774
2. Ra CK, et al. JAMA. 2018;320(3):255–263. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.8931
3. Hoge E et al. Pediatrics. 2017;140(Suppl 2):S76-S80. doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-1758G.
4. Orben, A. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2020; 55, 407–414.
5. Widnall E et al. 24th August 2020, NIHR School for Public Health Research
6. Davey Smith G, Hemani G, Human Molecular Genetics 2014;23(R1):R89–R98, https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddu328
7. Leppert B et al. JAMA Psychiatry. 2019;76(8):834–842. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.0774
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