Smartphones, social Media and Adolescent mental well-being: the impact of school policies Restricting dayTime use—protocol for a natural experimental observational study using mixed methods at secondary schools in England (SMART Schools Study)

WOOD, Grace, GOODYEAR, Victoria, ADAB, Peymane, AL-JANABI, Hareth, FENTON, Sally, JONES, Kirsty, MICHAIL, Maria, MORRISON, Breanna, PATTERSON, Paul, SITCH, Alice J, WADE, Matthew and PALLAN, Miranda (2023). Smartphones, social Media and Adolescent mental well-being: the impact of school policies Restricting dayTime use—protocol for a natural experimental observational study using mixed methods at secondary schools in England (SMART Schools Study). BMJ Open, 13 (7): e075832.

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Abstract

Introduction: Smartphone and social media use is prevalent during adolescence, with high levels of use associated with lower levels of mental well-being. Secondary schools in the UK have introduced policies that restrict daytime use of smartphones and social media, but there is no evaluation on the impact of these policies on adolescent mental well-being. The SMART Schools Study aims to determine the impact of daytime restrictions of smartphone and social media use on indicators of adolescent mental well-being, anxiety, depression, physical activity, sleep, classroom behaviour, attainment and addictive social media use. Methods and analysis: This is a natural experimental observational study using mixed methods. Secondary schools within a 100 mile radius of the recruiting centre in the West Midlands (UK) have been categorised into two groups: Schools that restrict (intervention) and permit (comparator) daytime use of smartphones. We aim to recruit 30 schools (20 restrictive, 10 permissive) and 1170 pupils aged 12–13 and 14–15 years. We will collect data on mental well-being, anxiety and depressive symptoms, phone and social media use, sleep and physical activity from pupil surveys, and accelerometers. Policy implementation measures and data on individual pupil factors will be collected through school staff surveys, and website/policy analysis. Six case study schools will explore individual, school and family/home factors that influence relationships between school smartphone policies, smartphone/social media use, and mental well-being. Economic evaluation will be completed through a cost–consequence analysis from an education sector perspective. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Birmingham’s Research Ethics Committee (ERN_22-0723). Parents/carers of pupil participants can complete a form to opt their child out of the study. Pupil, school staff and parent/carer participants are asked to complete online/written consent (or assent). Findings will be disseminated through policy briefings, resources for schools, social media, reports, and open access publications. Trial registration number: ISRCTN77948572.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	** Embargo end date: 05-07-2023 ** From BMJ via Jisc Publications Router ** Licence for this article starting on 05-07-2023: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ** Peer reviewed: TRUE ** Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Gareth Evans, who is a secondary school teacher and member of the investigator team, for advice on study design and conduct. We would also like to thank members of the SMART Schools SSC and DMEC and members of our PPI groups for their advice on the study protocol and conduct. **Journal IDs: eissn 2044-6055 **Article IDs: publisher-id: bmjopen-2023-075832 **History: published_online 05-07-2023; published 07-2023; accepted 26-05-2023; submitted 19-05-2023
Uncontrolled Keywords:	adolescent, mental health, schools
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-075832
SWORD Depositor:	Colin Knott
Depositing User:	Colin Knott
Date Deposited:	25 Jul 2023 13:49
Last Modified:	11 Oct 2023 13:02
URI:	https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/32176

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