Table 1. Analytic Variables Derived from the Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, United States, January–June 2021.
| Type | Variable name | Survey item | Variable construction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary outcome | More difficulty doing schoolwork during pandemic | Do you agree or disagree that doing your schoolwork was more difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic than before the pandemic started? | More difficulty doing schoolwork: strongly agree or agree vs not sure or disagree or strongly disagree |
| Primary predictor | Sleep duration | On an average school night, how many hours of sleep do you get? | • ≤4 hours • 5 hours • 6 hours • 7 hours • Meets recommended ≥8 hours (8 hours, 9 hours, or ≥10 hours) |
| Covariate | Self-reported hunger | During the COVID-19 pandemic, how often did you go hungry because there was not enough food in your home? | Experienced self-reported hunger: always or most of the time or sometimes vs never or rarely |
| Poor mental health | During the COVID-19 pandemic, how often was your mental health not good? (Poor mental health includes stress, anxiety, and depression.) | Experienced poor mental health: always or most of the time vs sometimes or rarely or never | |
| High screen time | On an average school day, how many hours do you spend in front of a TV, computer, smart phone, or other electronic device watching shows or videos, playing games, accessing the Internet, or using social media (also called “screen time”)? (Do not count time spent doing schoolwork.) | • High level of screen time (≥5 hours/day)a
• <5 hours/day (<1 hour/day, 1 hour/day, 2 hours/day, 3 hours/day, or 4 hours/day) |
|
| Sex | What is your sex? | • Female • Male |
|
| Grade | In what grade are you? | • 9th grade • 10th grade • 11th grade • 12th grade • Ungraded or other grade |
|
| Race and ethnicity | Developed from Q4. Are you Hispanic or Latino? Q5. What is your race? (Select 1 or more responses.) |
• Hispanic • Non-Hispanic Black • Non-Hispanic White • Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and multiracial |
a
Rather than setting a time limit, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends placing consistent limits on the time spent using media and the types of media for adolescents and ensuring that media does not take the place of adequate sleep, physical activity, and other behaviors essential to health. From previous studies, we defined high level of screen time by using the largest response category: ≥5 hours per day.