Violent+Media

Browne, Kevin D., and Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis. "The Influence of Violent Media on Children and Adolescents: A Public-Health Approach." //Lancet// 365.9460 (2005): 702-10. Web. 24 Aug. 2010.

-“This debate shows the typical divide between so-called media pessimists9 who believe that media violence can be very harmful to children and adolescents, and media skeptics who claim that there is no reliable evidence to support this view.” (702) -“The idea that some individuals are more susceptible than others to the effects of violence in the media has provided a balance between these two extreme viewpoints, with some researchers emphasizing the role of social and environmental.” (702) -“Hence, in addition to the habits and behavior of the child or adolescent viewer, the behavior of parents in monitoring the use of televisions and computers and knowingly or unknowingly allowing access to violent imagery should be considered.” (702-3) -“The definition of violence most relevant to visual media is “the exercise of physical force so as to injure or damage persons or property; otherwise to treat or use persons or property in a way that causes bodily injury and/or forcibly interferes with personal freedom”. (703)   -“In electrified urban or rural areas, 93% of children who attend school spent more than 50% of their leisure time watching television.” (703) -“A significant association was reported between the amount of time spent watching television during adolescence and early adulthood (with accompanying probable exposure to violence) and the likelihood of subsequent antisocial behavior, such as threatening aggression, assault or physical fights resulting in injury, and robbery.” (703) -“The UNESCO review of research findings suggests that everyone is negatively affected in some way by media violence, but that these effects depend on an individual’s cognitive appraisal and physical and social environment.” (705) -“Several risk factors have been repeatedly linked to delinquency and crime, such as poverty, one-parent families and an absence of parental care, and affection coupled with inconsistent discipline and severe physical punishment.” (706) -“Indeed, evidence during film viewing showed that offenders were more approving of and more interested in violent scenes than non-offenders,84 and 10 months after viewing the violent film twice as many offenders as non-offenders recalled and identified with vindictively violent characters.” (706) -“The small amount of good quality research that discusses sex differences suggests that boys are more likely to show aggression after viewing violent media than girls.” (708) -“Furthermore, the role of communities and societies in providing standards, guidelines, and education to families also needs assessment. Attention can then be directed to public-health interventions to reduce the extent and effect of violence in the media for the whole population (universal interventions) and high-risk individuals (targeted interventions), respectively.” (703) -“In electrified urban or rural areas, 93% of children who attend school spent more than 50% of their leisure time watching television.” (703) -“For example, in England, according to the Independent Television Commission’s research survey in 1998, 46% of children have a television in their bedroom and only 43% of parents monitor and prevent their child watching unsuitable programs.” (703) -“In the largest international review of more than 1000 studies before 1991 the researchers concluded that there is a positive association between violent entertainment and aggressive behaviour, although some group and cultural distinctions were evident.” (703) -“Structural equation modelling showed that childhood exposure to media violence was predictive of aggressive behaviour in early adulthood in both men and women, even when controlling for socioeconomic status, intelligence quotient, and various parenting factors (eg, parental viewing habits and aggressive behaviour).” (703)