Academic Psychiatry 23:111-114, June 1999
© 1999 Academic Psychiatry
Media Violence and Youth
Eugene V. Beresin, M.D.
Dr. Beresin is Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training, Massachusetts General Hospital, McLean Hospital; and Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Address reprint requests to Dr. Beresin, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Bulfinch 449, Boston, MA 021l6–2696; e-mail: EBERESIN @PARTNERS.ORG.
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ABSTRACT
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This column reviews the literature on violence in the media and its effects on youth. The author summarizes the findings of naturalistic, longitudinal, and population-based studies conducted over the last 30 years. The literature provides compelling evidence that exposure of media violence to children plays a major role in the etiology of aggressive behavior. Psychiatrists can facilitate primary prevention of violence in our society by discussing the problem of media violence with parents, medical students, residents, and allied health and school professionals. (Academic Psychiatry 1999; 23:111–114)
Key Words: Video Column • Media Column
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GROWTH OF TV VIEWING
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The impact of television since its creation has been invasive. At the half century mark, only 10% of houses had a television. Proliferation of televisions exploded into 90% of homes by 1960 and by 1996 had reached 99% of American homes (1). In fact, more homes have televisions than telephones (1). And in the last decade, with prices of televisions falling, more and more homes have multiple TVs, meaning children have greater opportunity to view programs without parental consent or supervision. A study in 1996 done by Mediascope reports that 54% of children in the United States have television sets in their bedroom (2). Neilson data and related studies reveal that children watch about 28 hours of television a week (35). Children spend more time watching television than time spent in school (3).
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EXPOSURE TO TELEVISION VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION
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The introduction of television violence has led many to theorize that chronic exposure to such acts will desensitize some children and cause them to develop more aggressive traits. Although there are several studies that do not show a relationship between television violence and teen aggressive behavior (67), most find a connection. While the causes of violence are multifactorial and include such variables as individual biological vulnerability; psychiatric disorder; substance abuse; and social conditions such as poverty, poor education, family psychopathology, and child mistreatment, the research literature is quite compelling in showing that among the most important variables is exposure of children to televised violence. One of the problems in the literature is discerning which children exposed to media violence are at greatest risk. Despite many confounding variables, however, there appears to be a strong effect of violence in the media on major vulnerable segments of the exposed population of children.
A 1973 study in a Canadian town (called "Notel" by researchers) examined the eftects of television being introduced into an environment that had not had it before. The town had not been exposed to television because of its remote location. Over the course of 2 years, researchers compared Notel with two other control communities that had access to television already. The researchers found no significant change in aggressive behavior in the control towns, but a 160% increase in physical aggression in the Notel community after 2 years. A second study compared homicide rates in the United States, Canada, and South Africa before and after the introduction of television. South Africa did not permit the broadcasting of television programming before 1975 for reasons not connected to violent programming. It was found that the homicide rates in Canada and the United States increased 92% and 93%, respectively, after the introduction of television, between 1945 and 1974, whereas in South African the rates declined 7% over the same period of time when there was no exposure to television. Later, after the introduction of television in 1975, South African homicide rates increased by 130% (8). In each country, there was a lag of 10 to 15 years between the introduction of television and a doubling of homicide rates. This increase has been hypothesized to reflect the coming of age of the initial television generation (9). As was predicted, the rates of serious violence rose first in children, then adolescents, and finally, in young adults.
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IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
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It is well documented that very young children imitate the behavior of adults in their surroundings as a method of learning about the adult world. As early as a few hours old, babies have been observed to mimic the facial expressions of others around them (10). By extension, children also will imitate what they see on television (11). Unfortunately, the child imitates what it sees but has no understanding as to whether what it is imitating is something that should or should not be imitated. A classic study by Bedura has shown that children who watch violent behavior on television will learn it and act it out afterward. Three groups of children watched a film showing an adult being aggressive to a doll. For one group, the adult was rewarded after the aggressive act, in the second nothing was done, and in the third the adult was reprimanded. Later, the children from the first two groups acted more aggressively than the children who had seen the adult reprimanded in the film (12).
Up until the age of 3–4 years, children are unable to differentiate between fiction and fantasy (13). This capability develops over time, but during the most impressionable early years children understand most of what they see on television as being factual in nature. And usually television portrays violence as an ordinary occurrence, something that is attractive, appealing, and effective.
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TV VIOLENCE
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Television programs display, on average, 8–12 acts of violence per hour. For children's programming, this figure jumps to about 20 violent scenes per hour (14). This increase is mainly due to cartoons, which appear much more frequently during morning and weekend programming. By the time a child reaches age 8, he/she will have witnessed 20,000 acts of violence on television (15). Sege reported on three decades of research on television violence. In his review of naturalistic field studies, longitudinal studies, and population-based studies, Sege documented the establishment of a link between the depiction of television violence and subsequent development of violent behavior (16). Sege concluded that "violence on television is frequently inconsequential, effective, and rewarded." Both the heroes and villains on television use violence to finish conflicts quickly. The idea of pain and consequence is usually not introduced, whether it be physical or psychological (16). In a study by Mediascope, the authors found that 66% of children's programming had violent acts and 46% of all television violence occurred in children's cartoons. The children's programs showed violence in a humorous manner 67% of the time (17). Japan is the only country with a similar amount of television violence. Yet the levels of violent acts are much less in that country than in the United States. One study found that the portrayal of violence in Japan vastly differs from that in the United States. In Japan the violence is more realistic, in that the pain and suffering associated with the violent act is emphasized. Also, the violence is mainly committed by the villain against the hero; therefore, acts of violence are associated with bad people and seen as inappropriate and immoral (18).
Three mechanisms have been identified that provide a link between violent television programming and aggressive behavior in children. The first mechanism, as alluded to earlier, deals with the absence of consequences associated with acts of violence on television and how situations are resolved more conveniently. This mechanism presumably teaches children that violence is the best response to difficult situations and is the most effective means of conflict resolution. Second, in many of these programs the heroes receive rewards for their violent acts, legitimizing violence as a proper answer to obstacles. Finally, children who watch violent television become desensitized to the violence, making it less likely that they will step in during real-life violent situations, interpreting it as a fact of life (16).
Slaby has summarized four kinds of effects that violence has on television viewers. The first is the "aggressor effect," which states that people who watch a large amount of television will more likely than others display aggressive behaviors toward others. The second effect described explains that those who watch a lot of violence will be more afraid of becoming a victim of violent acts. Third, there is the "bystander effect," which describes viewers as numb and hardened to actual violence. The final effect describes a cycle in which combative children become accustomed to violent programming, start to identify with the characters, impersonate them, and then seek out new shows with more intense scenes of violence (19). One problem with such conclusions is that they are broad generalizations and appear to state generic influences on viewers. Clearly, not all children who view violence will become overtly aggressive. What has not been adequately studied is discriminating which cohort of children are most vulnerable to media violence. We need prospective, controlled studies to help us determine which segments of the population are at highest risk of becoming violent after exposure to media violence.
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MUSIC VIDEOS
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With the expansion of cable systems into virtually every neighborhood in the United States and thus access to MTV and other national music stations, music videos have becomc daily viewing material for children and adolescents in the 1990s. Rich et al. demonstrated that about 15% of 518 randomly selected music videos contained individuals engaged in interpersonal violence, with a mean of 6.1 violent acts per violence-containing video. Attractive role models were aggressors in 80% of violent music videos. White females were most likely to be shown as victims. Blacks were overrepresented in terms of U.S. demographics as being victims and aggressors, whereas whites were underrepresented. The authors concluded that these videos are creating and reinforcing false stereotypes that black males are the main aggressors toward white females (20). This issue is particularly worrisome for an adolescent audience that is struggling with issues of identity, and developing internal models about conflict resolution, race and ethnicity, and male–female relationships (20).
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ADVICE FOR PARENTS
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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has created a list of recommendations to address the problem of violence on television and its effects on children. The AAP suggests that parents monitor the television that children watch and limit viewing to 1–2 hours a day. In addition, parents should watch the programs with their children, enabling them to address any objectionable issues that arise in the shows. Pediatricians are also instructed to make parents and schools "media literate," meaning that they are able to teach children about how media content is promoted on television, to explain the intent of commercials, and to help them learn which television messages are considered suitable. The AAP argues that children who are "media literate" are more resistant to its harmful effects. The AAP goes on to list more recommendations for pediatricians to contact the Federal Communications Commission, networks, local stations, musicians, and other broadcast media to advocate for greater sensitivity to the impact of media violence when considering decisions about productions and programming (21). The American Psychological Association would like to implement rating systems similar to those used by the Motion Picture Association of America to better inform parents. This system would move a little further, in that it would be more descriptive in terms of rating behaviors displayed that could potentially harm children and youth (19).
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CONCLUSION
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Psychiatrists are in an excellent position to implement primary prevention of potential violent behaviors in a number of ways. We should inform our patients who are parents about the impact of media violence on their children. This becomes particularly important if we identify children and families with other potential risk factors for aggressive behavior: those living in poverty, those exposed to violence at home and in their neighborhoods, and those with psychiatric disorders, among others. For child and adolescent patients, we should routinely discuss the content of television shows, music videos, and films and elicit the child's emotional reactions. As consultants, we should educate school, hospital, and social service professionals about the importance of diminishing the exposure of children to media violence. Finally, as psychiatric educators, we should teach medical students and residents about the influence of media on society and its powerful role in our culture.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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The author thanks Roger Hicks for invaluable assistance in the preparation of this manuscript.
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REFERENCES
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Neilson Media Research, 1995
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National Television Violence Study, issued by Mediascope, February, l996
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AC Neilson Company:1992–1993 Report on Television. New York, Neilson Media Research, 1993
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Andreasen MS: Evolution in the family's use of television: normative data from industry and academe, in Television and the American Family, edited by Bryant J. Hillsdale, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum, 1990, pp. 3–55
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Lieben RM, Spralkin J: The Early Window: Effects of Television on Children and Youth, 3rd Edition. New York, Pergamon, 1988
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Andison FS: TV violence and viewer aggression: a cumulative of study results, 1954–1976. Public Opinion Q 1977; 41:314–331[Abstract]
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Hearold S: A synthesis of 1043 effects of television on social behavior, in Public Communication and Behavior, edited by Comstock G. Orlando, FL, Academic Press, 1986, pp. 65–133
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Joy LA, Kimball MM, Zabrack ML: Television and children's aggressivc behavior, in The Impact of Television: A Natural Experiment in Three Communities, edited by Williams TM. Orlando, FL, Academic Press, 1986, pp. 303–360
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Centenvall BS: Exposure to television as a cause of violence, in Public Communication and Behavior, edited by Comstock G. Orlando, FL, Academic Press, 1989, pp. 21–58
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Mellzoff AN, Moore MK: Imitation in newborn infants: exploring the range of gestures imitated and the underlying mechanism. Dev Psychol 1989; 25:954–962
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Meltzoff AN: Imitation of televised models by infants. Child Dev 1988; 59:1221–1229
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Bandura A, Ross D, Ross SA: Imitation of film-mediated aggressive models. J Abnorm Soc Psychol 1963; 66:3–11[Medline]
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Flavell JH: Thc development of children's knowledge about the appearance-reality distinction. Am Psychol 1986; 41:418–425[Medline]
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Comstock C, Strashurger VC: Deceptive appearances: television violence aggressive behavior. J Adolesc Health Care 1990; 11:31–44 [Medline]
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Sege R, Dietz W: Television viewing and violence in children: the pediatrician as agent for change. Pediatrics 1994; 94:600–607[Abstract]
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Iwao S, Pool IS, Hagiwara S: Japanese and U.S. media: some cross-cultural insights into TV violence. J Commun 1981; 31:28–36
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ABSTRACT
GROWTH OF TV VIEWING
