Watching Violent TV at Pre-School Age Linked to Aggression in Young Boys

TV-Related Anti-Social Behaviors Found in Boys, Not Girls

    SEATTLE, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Watching violent television
 programs between the ages of 2 and 5 years of age is clearly linked to
 aggressive and anti-social behaviors in boys when they reach age 7 to 9,
 according to a new study published in the November 2007 issue of
 Pediatrics. Investigators Dimitri A. Christakis, MD, MPH, and Frederick
 Zimmerman, PhD, both of Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute and
 the University of Washington School of Medicine, add these findings to
 their growing body of research on the effects of television and media on
 children and their ability to learn, socialize and develop.
 
     The journal article titled "Violent Television Viewing During Preschool
 is Associated with Anti-social Behavior During School Age" reviews data
 from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, which is a 40-year study of 8,000
 U.S. families. The project looked at the types of programming watched by
 184 boys and 146 girls between ages 2 and 5, and anti-social behaviors
 between ages 7 and 10. A clear link was found between pre-school age boys
 who watched violent programs and their later development of anti-social and
 aggressive behaviors at ages 7 to 9. There was no such correlation found
 for girls.
 
     "This new study provides further evidence of how important and powerful
 television and media are as young children develop," said Christakis.
 "However, the news here is not all bad. While we found that shows like
 violent cartoons or football can make children more aggressive, we found no
 such effect for other programs such as educational ones. This points out
 that parents must be informed and very selective when making media choices
 for their children."
 
     "These findings are a bit unnerving because we know from other studies
 that the behaviors children manifest in early childhood track into
 adolescence and even into adulthood," said Christakis. "As children grow
 older they gradually learn coping skills to deal with difficult situations,
 so it's important to provide positive role models for them at a young age."
 
     The anti-social and aggressive behaviors noted in this study's data
 included observations about cheating, being mean to others, feeling no
 regret, being destructive, disobedience at school and having trouble with
 teachers.
 
     In the study, television programming such as football, many cartoons
 and titles like Power Rangers, Star Wars, Space Jam and Spider Man were all
 classed as violent entertainment because characters fight or flee from
 violent situations, laugh or cheer as they rejoice in violent acts, and
 show more violence than would be expected in the everyday life of a child.
 Even G-rated films intended for children can be filled with violence and
 classed as violent entertainment, according to this definition. By
 contrast, shows considered non-violent included programs like Toy Story,
 Flintstones and Rugrats. A third category of educational programming was
 also reviewed, such as Barney, Sesame Street, Magic School Bus and
 Winnie-the-Pooh. Significantly, the correlation to later aggressive and
 anti-social behaviors in boys only appeared with those shows and
 programming rated as violent.
 
     It has long been suspected that television, media and entertainment
 have a great impact on the development of children. "We now recognize that
 content is key," said Christakis. "Given the media saturated world that
 young children now inhabit, we need further research and policies to ensure
 that media exerts a positive influence on children."
 
     In a related companion journal article appearing in the same issue of
 Pediatrics called "Association Between Content Types of Early Media
 Exposure and Subsequent Attentional Problems," the same researchers found
 that for children under age 3, each hour per day spent watching violent
 television was associated with approximately twice the risk of attention
 problems five years later. There was also significant risk of increased
 attention problems associated with watching nonviolent television for the
 same age group, but no risk was associated with viewing educational
 programming. Older children ages 4 and 5 showed no increased risk five
 years later for attention problems from watching violent or non-violent
 programs. This second study was based on data collected from parents of 933
 children and shows that the effect of violent television content on
 attention problems is much higher than previously estimated when program
 content was not identified.
 
     "It would appear both of these studies rule out educational TV as a
 contributor to either aggression or attention problems among young
 children," said Zimmerman. "Parents can take some comfort in that,
 especially since there is some high-quality educational programming
 available on TV and DVD. Together these studies suggest that by changing
 the channel, parents may be able to change their children's behavior."
 
     Christakis' and Zimmerman's other recent studies have shown that
 playing with blocks can improve language acquisition, and that baby DVDs
 and videos that purport to enhance language development may in fact
 actually hinder it. Together they are authors of the book The Elephant in
 the Living Room: Make TV Work for Your Kids, a guide for parents.
 
     About Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute, Seattle, Wash.
     At the forefront of pediatric research, the Seattle Children's Hospital
 Research Institute at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in
 Seattle conducts research under nine major centers and is internationally
 recognized for its discoveries in cancer, genetics, health services,
 immunology, pathology, infectious disease and vaccines. Consistently ranked
 one of the best children's hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World
 Report, Children's serves as the pediatric referral center for Washington,
 Alaska, Montana and Idaho. Children's has been delivering superior patient
 care for 100 years, including advancing new discoveries and treatments in
 pediatric research, and serving as a primary teaching, clinical and
 research site for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of
 Washington School of Medicine. For more information about the research
 institute visit http://research.seattlechildrens.org/.
 
 
 
 
 

SOURCE Seattle Children?s Hospital Research Institute