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Taking Professional Wrestling to the Mat

A Look at the Appeal and Potential Effects of Professional Wrestling on Children

Dr. Waxmonsky is a resident in the McLean/Massachusetts General Hospital Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Program and Clinical Fellow in Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Beresin is the Director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training Program for Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Address reprint requests and correspondence to Dr. Waxmonsky, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, WAC 725, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114.

ABSTRACT

Professional wrestling (PW) has gained a firm foothold in American culture and appears to be here to stay. Children comprise a large portion of its audience, much to the dismay of many parents and clinicians. Society has struggled with how to respond to their children's fascination with PW, a novel hybrid between sports and entertainment. Parents expose children to sports, thinking they will learn healthy ways of managing conflict and aggression. However, PW is not a sport. Its values are the exact opposite of traditional sportsmanship; it demonstrates to children that cheating and verbal intimidation are effective problem-solving techniques. Because PW resembles sports, children risk applying its values to legitimate sports, as well as other realms of life. Parents can prevent this association by differentiating PW from sports, and the entertainment industry can prevent it by stopping their aggressive marketing of PW to children.

Key Words: Media Column • Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. J. Bernthal and F. J. Medway An Initial Exploration into the Psychological Implications of Adolescents' Involvement with Professional Wrestling School Psychology International, May 1, 2005; 26(2): 224 - 242. [Abstract] [PDF]

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