Early Media Use Predicts Later Executive Function Difficulties Through Problematic Media Use: A Cross-Lagged Panel Model Testing Bidirectional Relations in Middle Childhood with an Early Childhood Media Use Predictor

Pervasive digital media use in early childhood raises concerns about problematic media use and executive functions. Yet, limited research has examined its long-term predictive effects and bidirectional relations among these factors, leaving predictive pathways unclear. This study analyzed data from 1113 Korean children in the Panel Study on Korean Children, tracking them at ages 6, 9, 10, and 12 years. A cross-lagged panel model examined bidirectional associations between general media use, problematic media use, and executive function difficulties in middle childhood, with media use at age 6 as a predictor. Results showed that higher media use at age 6 predicted higher general and problematic media use at ages 9 and 10. Problematic media use at age 10 mediated the link between media use at age 6 and executive function difficulties at age 12, suggesting that problematic media use drives later executive function difficulties. While executive function difficulties predicted problematic media use at all ages, bidirectional associations emerged between media use and problematic media use (ages 9 and 10) and between problematic media use and executive function difficulties (ages 10 and 12). These findings highlight dynamic interplay between general and problematic media use and executive functions from early to middle childhood.