Objective: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly altered daily life, potentially impacting children’s digital media usage. This study investigates changes in smart device usage among children in South Korea, considering the pandemic’s effects. Methods: A longitudinal analysis was conducted on a cohort of 313 children aged 8–11 years from 2018 to 2021. The study measured weekly usage of personal computers (PCs), tablet PCs, and smartphones, comparing pre-pandemic (up to 2020) and post-pandemic periods. Partial correlation analysis was employed to assess the impact of COVID-19, controlling for covariates such as age, household income, and parental education. Results: The analysis revealed a significant increase in smart device usage time following the onset of the pandemic. This increase remained statistically significant even after accounting for covariates. Notably, both age and maternal education level were significant factors influencing device usage. Conclusion This study demonstrates a significant shift in the digital behavior of children aged 8–11 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in smart device usage underscores the pandemic’s far-reaching impact on children’s daily routines and suggests a need for further research into its long-term effects. The findings highlight the importance of considering external societal changes when analyzing trends in digital media usage among children.

Objective: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly altered daily life, potentially impacting children’s digital media usage. This study investigates changes in smart device usage among children in South Korea, considering the pandemic’s effects. Methods: A longitudinal analysis was conducted on a cohort of 313 children aged 8–11 years from 2018 to 2021. The study measured weekly usage of personal computers (PCs), tablet PCs, and smartphones, comparing pre-pandemic (up to 2020) and post-pandemic periods. Partial correlation analysis was employed to assess the impact of COVID-19, controlling for covariates such as age, household income, and parental education. Results: The analysis revealed a significant increase in smart device usage time following the onset of the pandemic. This increase remained statistically significant even after accounting for covariates. Notably, both age and maternal education level were significant factors influencing device usage. Conclusion This study demonstrates a significant shift in the digital behavior of children aged 8–11 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in smart device usage underscores the pandemic’s far-reaching impact on children’s daily routines and suggests a need for further research into its long-term effects. The findings highlight the importance of considering external societal changes when analyzing trends in digital media usage among children.

Objective: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly altered daily life, potentially impacting children’s digital media usage. This study investigates changes in smart device usage among children in South Korea, considering the pandemic’s effects. Methods: A longitudinal analysis was conducted on a cohort of 313 children aged 8–11 years from 2018 to 2021. The study measured weekly usage of personal computers (PCs), tablet PCs, and smartphones, comparing pre-pandemic (up to 2020) and post-pandemic periods. Partial correlation analysis was employed to assess the impact of COVID-19, controlling for covariates such as age, household income, and parental education. Results: The analysis revealed a significant increase in smart device usage time following the onset of the pandemic. This increase remained statistically significant even after accounting for covariates. Notably, both age and maternal education level were significant factors influencing device usage. Conclusion This study demonstrates a significant shift in the digital behavior of children aged 8–11 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in smart device usage underscores the pandemic’s far-reaching impact on children’s daily routines and suggests a need for further research into its long-term effects. The findings highlight the importance of considering external societal changes when analyzing trends in digital media usage among children.

Objective: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly altered daily life, potentially impacting children’s digital media usage. This study investigates changes in smart device usage among children in South Korea, considering the pandemic’s effects. Methods: A longitudinal analysis was conducted on a cohort of 313 children aged 8–11 years from 2018 to 2021. The study measured weekly usage of personal computers (PCs), tablet PCs, and smartphones, comparing pre-pandemic (up to 2020) and post-pandemic periods. Partial correlation analysis was employed to assess the impact of COVID-19, controlling for covariates such as age, household income, and parental education. Results: The analysis revealed a significant increase in smart device usage time following the onset of the pandemic. This increase remained statistically significant even after accounting for covariates. Notably, both age and maternal education level were significant factors influencing device usage. Conclusion This study demonstrates a significant shift in the digital behavior of children aged 8–11 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in smart device usage underscores the pandemic’s far-reaching impact on children’s daily routines and suggests a need for further research into its long-term effects. The findings highlight the importance of considering external societal changes when analyzing trends in digital media usage among children.

Objective: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly altered daily life, potentially impacting children’s digital media usage. This study investigates changes in smart device usage among children in South Korea, considering the pandemic’s effects. Methods: A longitudinal analysis was conducted on a cohort of 313 children aged 8–11 years from 2018 to 2021. The study measured weekly usage of personal computers (PCs), tablet PCs, and smartphones, comparing pre-pandemic (up to 2020) and post-pandemic periods. Partial correlation analysis was employed to assess the impact of COVID-19, controlling for covariates such as age, household income, and parental education. Results: The analysis revealed a significant increase in smart device usage time following the onset of the pandemic. This increase remained statistically significant even after accounting for covariates. Notably, both age and maternal education level were significant factors influencing device usage. Conclusion This study demonstrates a significant shift in the digital behavior of children aged 8–11 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in smart device usage underscores the pandemic’s far-reaching impact on children’s daily routines and suggests a need for further research into its long-term effects. The findings highlight the importance of considering external societal changes when analyzing trends in digital media usage among children.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the risk factors of young children’s smartphone addiction in a longitudinal study design. Data collected from 313 participants (mean age, 4.5 ± 0.82 years; male, 49.8%) over 4 years for Kids Cohort for Understanding of Internet Addiction Risk Factors in Early Childhood were analyzed in this study. Mixed effect models were used to evaluate the influence of various variables on the repeated measures of smartphone addiction tendency in young children over time. The multi-level analysis showed that parents’ lack of control over children’s smartphone use (t = −4.523; 95% confidence interval [CI], −7.32, −1.72), and parents’ higher smartphone addiction proneness (t = 6.340;95% CI, 0.23, 0.440) predicted higher smartphone addiction tendency in young children.The responsibility of the parents to prevent their children from becoming addicted to smartphones should start in a very early age when they start using the smartphones.

Background: /Aim: Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and lenvatinib are currently available as first-line therapy for the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, comparative efficacy studies are still limited. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of these treatments in HCC patients with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT). Methods: We retrospectively included patients who received either atezolizumab plus bevacizumab or lenvatinib as first-line systemic therapy for HCC with PVTT. Primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and secondary endpoints included progressionfree survival (PFS) and disease control rate (DCR) determined by response evaluation criteria in solid tumors, version 1.1. Results: A total of 52 patients were included: 30 received atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and 22 received lenvatinib. The median follow-up duration was 6.4 months (interquartile range, 3.9-9.8). The median OS was 10.8 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.7 to not estimated) with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and 5.8 months (95% CI, 4.8 to not estimated) with lenvatinib (P=0.26 by log-rank test). There was no statistically significant difference in OS (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.71; 95% CI, 0.34-1.49; P=0.37). The median PFS was similar (P=0.63 by log-rank test), with 4.1 months (95% CI, 3.3-7.7) for atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and 4.3 months (95% CI, 2.6-5.8) for lenvatinib (aHR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.51-1.69; P=0.80). HRs were similar after inverse probability treatment weighting. The DCRs were 23.3% and 18.2% in patients receiving atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and lenvatinib, respectively (P=0.74). Conclusion The effectiveness of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and lenvatinib was comparable for the treatment of HCC with PVTT.

Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a decrease in face-to-face classes worldwide, affecting the mental health of children and their parents. The global pandemic has increased children’s overall use of electronic media. This study analyzed the effect of children’s screen time on problematic behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A total of 186 parents from Suwon, South Korea, were recruited to participate in an online survey. The mean age of the children was 10.14 years old, and 44.1% were females. The questionnaire included questions on children’s screen time, problematic behaviors, and parental stress. Children’s behavioral problems were evaluated using the Behavior Problem Index, whereas the Parental Stress Scale was used to estimate parental stress. Results: The mean smartphone usage frequency of the children was 5.35 days per week, and the mean smartphone screen time was 3.52 hours per day. Smartphone screen time (Z=4.49, p<0.001) and usage frequency (Z=2.75, p=0.006) were significantly correlated with children’s behavioral problem scores. The indirect effect of parental stress on this relationship was also statistically significant (p=0.049, p=0.045, respectively). Conclusion This study suggests that children’s smartphone screen time has affected problematic behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, parental stress is related to the relationship between children’s screen time and problematic behaviors.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to develop and validate the Korean version of the clinician-administered KSADSCOMP, which is the recently updated, web-based computerized version of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for school-age children (KSADS). Methods: A total of 71 participants (mean age=12.04±3.86 years, female=29.57%) participated in the study. A child-adolescent psychiatrist established a diagnosis for the participant after a thorough psychiatric interview with the participant and the parent. Researchers who were blind to the diagnoses administered the clinician-administered KSADS-COMP to the parents and participants. The gold-standard diagnoses made by child-adolescent psychiatrists were compared to the current diagnoses generated by the clinician-administered KSADS-COMP. Percent agreement, Cohen’s Kappa, Gwet’s first-order agreement coefficient (AC1), sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were calculated. Results: Gwet’s AC1, our preferred measure of agreement, showed excellent range between 0.78 and 1. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predicted value and negative predictive value also showed high scores. Conclusion The current study demonstrated excellent criterion validity of the Korean version of the clinician-administered KSADSCOMP, though the small sample size could be a limitation. The current study was the first study to examine the criterion validity of the KSADS-COMP. Due to its readily usable format and efficient and accurate diagnostic process, widely-use of KSADS-COMP is expected.

Background: As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has continued for a couple of years, the long-term effects of the pandemic and the subsequent school curriculum modification on the mental health of children and parents need to be investigated. To clarify the changes that can occur during one school year and to predict the risk factors for vulnerable groups, this study identified parameters relative to children’s screen time, their problematic behavior, and parental depression. Methods: A total of 186 participants were analyzed who were parents of elementary schoolchildren in South Korea. These parents were required to complete a web-based questionnaire twice. The questionnaires were conducted in June 2020 and September 2021. Participants’ general demographics including family income, children’s screen time, sleep patterns, problematic behavior, and parental depression were assessed via the parental questionnaire that included various measurement tools. Results: Children’s body mass index (BMI) increased significantly in 2021 (18.94 ± 3.75 vs. 18.14 ± 3.30, P < 0.001). Smartphone frequency of use per week (5.35 vs. 4.54, P < 0.001) and screen time per day (3.52 vs. 3.16, P < 0.001) significantly increased during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The television screen time (2.88 vs. 3.26, P < 0.001), frequency of viewing (3.77 vs. 4.77, P < 0.001), and children’s problematic behaviors significantly decreased (9.15 vs. 11.85,P < 0.001). A lower income household was a key predictor of increased smartphone frequency (B = 1.840, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.923–2.757, P < 0.001) and smartphone screen time (B = 1.992, 95% CI, 1.458–2.525, P < 0.001). The results showed that the lower income household (B = 5.624, 95% CI, 2.927–8.320, P < 0.001) and a child’s psychiatric treatment history (B = 7.579, 95% CI, 5.666–9.492, P < 0.001) was the most significant predictor of problematic behaviors of children and parental depression (B = 3.476, 95% CI, 1.628–5.325, P < 0.001; B = 3.138, 95% CI, 1.827–4.450, P < 0.001). Conclusion This study suggested that children’s smartphone screen time and BMI increased during COVID-19 because of the school curriculum modification following school closures in South Korea. The increased children’s problematic behaviors and parental depression were predicted by lower-income households and the previous psychiatric history of children. These results indicate that multiple social support systems to the vulnerable group are needed during the ongoing pandemic and that a modified school setting is required.