Press Release
Fake
Violence Makes Real Kids Fight
All
kinds of children exposed to violent media get more aggressive over
time
Study shows even boys and girls
not prone to aggression become more violent with their peers
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 24, 2003
Contact:Noah Schuchman,
New School Communications,
651-221-1999
(Tampa, FL)
- The National Institute on Media and the Family has conducted
a longitudinal study linking exposure to violent media with later
aggressive behavior in children. Unlike similar research that has
focused on particular types of media, this study considers all types
of violent media exposure, including TV, video games and movies.
Also a break from previous research, the findings of the new National
Institute on Media and the Family study reveal that all kinds of
children, regardless of gender and predisposition to violent behavior,
become more aggressive and violent over time when exposed to violent
media.
The study is
being presented by Douglas Gentile, Ph.D., director of research
for the National Institute on Media and the Family, on Saturday,
April 26th, 2003 at the Society for Research in Child Development
(SRCD) biennial meeting in Tampa, Florida. Dr. Gentile, lead author
of the study, conducted the research with David Walsh, Ph.D., president
of the National Institute on Media and the Family, and Jennifer
R. Linder, Ph.D. of Linfield College.
"The road
from being a nice kid to a mean kid is a long road, and there are
many things that can push a kid along that road," Dr. Gentile
said. "Our study shows that one important thing that pushes
all kinds of kids along that road is exposure to media violence.
That goes for boys, girls, kids of different income levels, kids
from the suburbs, rural kids, kids who have supportive and healthy
situations at home-everyone."
Third, fourth, and fifth grade students were studied across the
school year. The researchers gathered information from peers, teachers,
and the students themselves to learn which kids were more verbally
and physically aggressive.
The results
of the study showed that all kinds of children, regardless of their
background, gender, or propensity toward violence, become more aggressive
with a large exposure to violent media.
- Boys became
more aggressive if they consumed violent media.
- Girls became
more aggressive if they consumed violent media.
- Aggressive
kids became more aggressive if they consumed violent media.
- Non-aggressive
kids became more aggressive if they consumed violent media.
-MORE-
According to
the study's findings, students who had not previously been involved
in fights were four times more likely to get into a fight
later if they had high exposure to violent media. In fact, the kids
without a history of fighting who had high exposure were more likely
to fight than the children who had a history of fighting but had
low media violence exposure.
"The question
really isn't whether or not violent media cause violence,"
Dr. Walsh said. "We know that exposure to media violence is
one of a number of causes of real-world violence. What's important
is that most of the other factors-where a child grew up, what kind
of home life the child has, the child's gender-these factors cannot
be controlled. Exposure to media violence, on the other hand, can
be controlled. Now that we know how powerful media violence is in
the lives of kids, we need to get to work making sure children avoid
a toxic dose."
The National
Institute on Media and the Family is an independent non-partisan,
non-sectarian, non-profit organization. The Institute's mission
is to maximize the benefits and minimize the harm that mass media
have on children, through research and education. For more information
visit www.mediafamily.org on the Web or call 1-888-672-5437.
The Society
for Research in Child Development is a multidisciplinary, non-profit,
professional association with an international membership of over
5,400 researchers, teachers/professors, clinicians, physicians,
nurses, lawyers, therapists, and policy makers.
Copies of this
research report are available upon request.
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