The Relationship Between Young Children’s Smart Media Overdependence and Cool and Hot Executive Functions: The Mediating Role of Sleep Problems

Objectives: This study explored whether sleep problems in young children mediate the relationship between smart media overdependence and cool (inhibition, working memory, and shifting) and hot (delay of gratification) executive functions.Methods: Participants were 207 children, aged 3–5 years and their mothers. Cool executive functions such as inhibition, working memory, and shifting were assessed using the day-night, eight-box, and dimensional change card sort tasks, respectively. Hot executive function was evaluated using the delay of gratification task. Pearson’s correlation analysis was conducted to examine the associations between variables. A structural equation model was tested to confirm the mediating role of sleep problems in the relationship between smart media overdependence and executive function using AMOS 27.0. The significance of the indirect effect was evaluated using bootstrapping. Children’s age and household income were included as control variables in the analyses.Results: The results indicated that young children’s sleep problems had a fully mediating effect on the relationship between smart media overdependence and executive function, after accounting for the children's age and household income. The influence of smart media overdependence on executive function mediated by sleep problems was domain-specific. Specifically, smart media overdependence indirectly affected shifting, but not inhibition, working memory, or delay of gratification through sleep problems.Conclusion: To reduce the negative impact of smart media overdependence on executive functions, particularly regarding shifting ability, it is necessary to not only prevent smart media overdependence, but also to emphasize the importance of sleep and implement targeted interventions to promote optimal sleep quality.