Too Much TV Watching Can Cause Depression...

Media use in adolescence and depression in young adulthood (Archives of general Psychiatry) a study, published in the February issue of The Archives of General Psychiatry, found a rising risk of depressive symptoms with increasing hours spent watching television. There was no association of depression with full exposure to computer related games, videocassettes or radio.

Researchers used data from a larger analysis of 4,142 adolescents who were not depressed at the start of study. After seven years of follow-up more than seven percent have symptoms of depressions. But while about 6 percent of those who watched less than three hours a day were depressed, more than 17 percent of those who watched more than nine hours a day had depresseive symptoms.

The association was stronger than boys than in girls, and it held after adjusting for age, race, socioeconomic status and educational level. “We really don’t know what it was specifically about TV exposure that was associated with depressions and disruptive behavior, whether it was a particular kind of programming or some contextual factor such as watching alone or with other people” said Dr. Brian Primack, the lead author and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.