Indicators of mental health of pre-school children in Irkutsk amid the wide introduction of information technologies

Aim. To assess the mental activity of pre-school children amid the wide introduction of information technologies. Methods. 176 children aged from 5.5 to 6.5 years were observed at the institution of pre-school education of Irkutsk central district from 1998 to 2012. Two groups were formed: the first group included 101 child who attended childcare center in 1998, the second group - 76 children who attended childcare center in 2012. Age groups of pre-school children were formed according to their age (from 5 years 5 months 30 days of age to 6 years 5 months 30 days of age). The mental activity was assessed using the figure tables by V.Y. Anfilov assessing the number of made mistakes and number of lines run through. Every missed line was equal to one mistake made. The productivity coefficient Q was calculated as Q=c2/c+d, where с - the number of lines run through; d - the number of mistakes (mistakes were not standardized). Results. The parameters of productivity did not change significantly in 2012 compared to 1998. The number of lines run through at Anfilov’s test increased by 1.8 times (р <0.05) in children of the second group (examined in 2012), the number of mistakes made increased by 7.5 times (р <0.05). Among the girls of the second group, the number of lines run through increased by 1.6 times (р <0.05), the number of mistakes made increased by 6.3 times (р <0.05). The trend was clearer in boys, in whom the number of lines run through increased by 2.0 times (р <0.05), the number of mistakes made increased by 8.3 times (р <0.05). Conclusion. The speed of information processing has increased, and the quality of information processing has dropped in contemporary pre-school children. The overall productivity did not change.

pre-school children, introduction of information technologies, mental capacity