Digital engagement profiles and binge eating symptoms in adolescents: a person-centred, longitudinal analysis

Brown, T, Tanti, V, Wilson, N, Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524, Lubman, D, Hein, K and Stavropoulos, V, 2026. Digital engagement profiles and binge eating symptoms in adolescents: a person-centred, longitudinal analysis. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 147: 152694. ISSN 0010-440X

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Abstract

Background: Binge eating symptoms emerge in early adolescence and are clinically meaningful below diagnostic thresholds. Digital media engagement may be relevant, yet most studies rely on aggregate screen time and rarely separate patterns of use from addiction-like features. This study tested whether screen use profiles and social media addiction risk were associated with binge eating symptom indicators in a large longitudinal cohort.

Methods: Data were drawn from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study at Time 3 (T3; n = 10,465; ages 10–13 years) and Time 5 (T5; n = 9257; ages 12–16 years). Latent profile analysis of six screen modalities derived screen use profiles. Social media addiction risk was classified using the Social Media Addiction Questionnaire. Four binge eating symptom indicators were assessed at each wave using item-level data from the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. Binomial logistic regression models tested associations, adjusting for sex, family conflict, and school environment.

Results: Two profiles were supported: High Screen Usage (44.5%) and Low Screen Usage (55.5%). At T3, High Screen Usage and higher social media addiction risk were each associated with higher odds of all symptom indicators after adjustment. At T5, High Screen Usage remained associated with binge-related distress, binge eating behaviour, and recurrent binge eating, while social media addiction risk differentiated all four symptoms. Family conflict showed the strongest associations, whereas a more positive school environment was associated with lower odds of symptoms.

Conclusions: Higher overall screen engagement and addiction-like social media use were independently associated with binge eating symptoms across early to mid-adolescence. Social media addiction risk showed more consistent symptom differentiation than screen use profiles, suggesting engagement quality may be more clinically informative than duration.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Comprehensive Psychiatry
Creators:	Brown, T., Tanti, V., Wilson, N., Griffiths, M.D., Lubman, D., Hein, K. and Stavropoulos, V.
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
Date:	April 2026
Volume:	147
ISSN:	0010-440X
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1016/j.comppsych.2026.152694 DOI 2681739 Other
Rights:	© 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Laura Borcherds
Date Added:	29 Apr 2026 12:57
Last Modified:	29 Apr 2026 12:57
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/55625

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