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Brian A. Primack, MD, EdM, MS; Jennifer S. Silk, PhD; Christian R. DeLozier, BS; William G. Shadel, PhD; Francesca R. Dillman Carpentier, PhD; Ronald E. Dahl, MD; Galen E. Switzer, PhD

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2011;165(4):360-365. doi:10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.27

Objective  To use ecological momentary assessment techniques to measure the association of major depressive disorder (MDD) with media use.

Design  Data were collected using an ecological momentary assessment protocol with cellular telephone–based brief interviews.

Setting  Participants received as many as 60 telephone calls from a trained staff member during 5 extended weekends in an 8-week period.

Participants  One hundred six adolescent participants who were part of a larger neurobehavioral study of depression in Pittsburgh from January 1, 2003, through December 31, 2008.

Main Exposure  At each call, participants were asked whether they were using the following 5 types of media: television or movies, music, video games, Internet, and print media, such as magazines, newspapers, and books.

Main Outcome Measures  We developed multivariable models to determine the independent association of each type of media use with MDD, controlling for sociodemographic variables.

Results  Of the 106 participants, 46 were diagnosed as having MDD. In multivariable models controlling for age, sex, and race, each increasing quartile of audio use was associated with an 80% increase in the odds of having MDD (odds ratio, 1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-2.8; P = .01 for trend). Conversely, each increasing quartile of print media use was associated with a 50% decrease in the odds of having MDD (odds ratio, 0.5; 95% confidence interval, 0.3-0.9; P = .009 for trend).

Conclusions  Major depressive disorder is positively associated with popular music exposure and negatively associated with reading print media such as books. Further research elucidating the directionality and strength of these relationships may help advance understanding of the relationships between media use and MDD.

Author Affiliations: Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine (Drs Primack and Switzer and Mr DeLozier), and Departments of Pediatrics (Dr Primack) and Psychiatry (Dr Silk), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, RAND Corporation (Dr Shadel), and Center for Heath Equity Research and Promotion, Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System (Dr Switzer), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (Dr Dillman Carpentier); and Community Health and Human Development and Joint Medical Program, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley (Dr Dahl).

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