Association Of Caregiver Nativity And US Residency On Preschoolers’ Time Outdoors, Screen Time, And Sleep

PURPOSE: To evaluate associations between caregiver nativity and length of residence in the US on preschoolers' time outdoors, screen use, and sleep habits. METHODS: Demographic data, outdoor time, screen time, hours of sleep, and bedtime of US children 3-5 years old without an intellectual or developmental disability (unweighted n = 10,157) from the 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health were analyzed. Descriptive statistics (unweighted n, weighted %) and generalized linear model (Odds ratio [OR], 95% confidence interval [95% CI]) were used to report findings by caregiver nativity and years in US, and child’s race/ethnicity. RESULTS: Children with US-born caregivers were predominately non-Hispanic White (n = 6320, 58.1%) and from households with incomes 200-399% above federal poverty level (FPL) (n = 2565, 29.3%). Children with foreign-born caregivers were primarily Hispanic (n = 486, 46.0%), and from households with incomes 0-99% above FPL (n = 282, 28.2%). White children with a foreign-born caregiver spent less time outdoors during the weekend compared to those with a US-born caregiver (OR = 0.64, 95% CI [0.44-0.93]). Findings for all other race/ethnicity groups regarding weekend outdoor time were not significant. Asian children with a foreign-born caregiver who have been in the US the longest (arrived before 1997) spent more time on screens than those whose caregivers have been in the US the shortest, (arrived between 2013 and 2022) (OR = 2.29 [1.38-3.79]). Black children with foreign-born caregivers were less likely to have a consistent bedtime than those with a US-born caregiver (OR = 0.46; 95%CI [0.25-0.84]). However, Black children with foreign-born caregivers who have been in the US the longest, were more likely to go to bed at the same time compared to those with the shortest US residency, 2013-2022, (OR = 3.16, 95% CI [1.24-8.08]). No other statistically significant differences in screen time, hours of sleep, and bedtime were found by race/ethnicity, nativity, or years lived in the US beyond these findings. CONCLUSIONS: Caregiver nativity and length of residence in the US are associated with time outdoors, screentime, and bedtime in some White, Asian, and Black young children. Further investigation is needed into how nativity, time in the US, and race/ethnicity affect young children's health behaviors. Supported by: This research was supported by a grant from the T32 Cancer Health Disparities Training Grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (T32CA128582)