Children and Screens’ Interdisciplinary Research Grants Program provides funding, on a competitive basis, to support cutting-edge scientific research projects that advance our knowledge and understanding of digital media and child development. These research grants are intended to deliver preliminary funds to interdisciplinary, interinstitutional research teams so that they may gain the results necessary to apply and compete for major funding from traditional funding sources.
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Open Calls
There are currently no open calls for the Interdisciplinary Research Grants Program. Sign up for our email list to receive updates on future funding opportunities. Questions? Email: grants@childrenandscreens.org.
Projects in Progress
2023 Call for Proposals: Infants and Screens
In March of 2023, Children and Screens issued a request for proposals to advance our understanding of critical questions behind the science of early screen usage—including but not limited to: What role do screens play in promoting or hampering young children’s cognitive, social, physical and emotional development? How are those effects mediated by content and differential susceptibilities of children? How does the intercalation of screens into everyday life affect early relational health? Studies can be laboratory or field-based but must focus on children 0-12 months of age and take an interdisciplinary approach meaning that investigators should come from at least 2 different disciplines.
The deadline for submission to this program has passed and proposals are currently under review. Questions? Email: grants@childrenandscreens.org.
Past Projects
| Project | Year | Amount | Investigator(s) |
| Use of Advanced Analytics to Understand Brain-Behavior SMA Relationships in ABCD Data | 2021-2022 | $100,000 | Marc Potenza (Yale University) and Yihong Zhao (Columbia University) |
| Characterizing the Impact of COVID-19 on Screen Media Use in the ABCD Cohort | 2020-2021 | $99,946 | Susan Tapert (University of California) and the National, Multi-Site Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study Team |
| Tweens, Screens, and Mental Health Pre- and Post-COVID-19: Are the Kids Alright | 2020-2021 | $53,764 | Sheri Madigan (University of Calgary), Dillon Browne (University of Waterloo), Brae McArthur (University of Calgary), Nicole Racine (University of Calgary), Suzanne Tough (University of Calgary), Sheila McDonald (University of Calgary) |
| Media Use and Young Children’s Development | 2020-2021 | $99,043 | Stephanie M. Reich (University of California, Irvine) and Natasha Cabrera (University of Maryland) |
| The New Norms of Adolescence: Examining Predictors and Consequences of Sexting | 2018-2019 | $100,000 | Jennifer Stevens Aubrey (University of Arizona), Hye Jeong Choi (University of Missouri), Elizabeth Daniels (Colorado State University – Colorado Springs), and Ashton Speno (Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville) |
| Development of a Comprehensive Assessment of Family Media Exposure | 2017-2019 | $99,993 | Rachel Barr (Georgetown University), Deborah Nichols (Purdue University), Sarah Coyne (Brigham Young University), Jenny Radesky (University of Michigan School of Medicine), and Heather Kirkorian (University of Wisconsin, Madison) |
| Parent and Peer Influences on Social Media Use in Early Adolescence: Implications for Psychosocial and Behavioral Health | 2017-2018 | $100,000 | Linda Charmaraman (Wellesley College), Megan Moreno (University of Wisconsin, Madison), and Jennifer Grossman (Wellesley College) |
