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TV VIOLENCE & CHILD BEHAVIOR.

Argues that TV violence can increase anti-social behavior, based on social learning theory. Statistics on viewing time & crime, comparison of theories, research, role of parents & family.

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THE EFFECTS OF TELEVISION VIOLENCE ON CHILD BEHAVIOR: SUMMARY
This study examined the relationship between viewing by children of television programming with violent content and manifestations of violent or aggressive behavioral tendencies by children. This study is important because criminal activity generally and violent behavior particularly committed by children in the United States is increasing as the overall rates of both violent and non-violent crime in this country are declining to some extent.
Social learning theory is posited as the way in which viewing violent programming on television is translated into violent behavior by children. Children begin to imitate adult behaviors at the earliest ages. The ability to imitate behavior is both useful and necessary for child development. While

Conflict and anger levels within the home were measured as werethe factors of marital discord, any negative emotional tone thatcharacterized parent-child relationships, and the degree of childpsychological adjustment. The investigation involved a sample of 144 pre-teenage children.The mean age of the subjects in the total sample was 9.8 years. Granzberg, G. The researchers alsofound that siblings close in age expected fewer adverse consequences fromaggressive retaliation behavior than was true of siblings characterized bygreater age separation. Symbolicinteractionism emphasizes connections between shared meanings, or symbols,and actions and communications, or interactions. Most violent behaviorlikely is learned either in the home or in high-risk environments thatchildren are allowed to enter because of parental neglect. The 17 percentrate cited at an earlier point in this discussion was based on theproportion of persons under the age of 18 years old included among thecrimes of violence that were cleared by arrest. Eron, L. For many youngsters, their American childhood has literallybecome a war zone in which they are entrapped-forced to run for cover andto avoid playgrounds, front yards, neighborhood streets, and even their ownhomes" (p. Viewing violent programmingon television can lead to violent behavior by children, if such childrenlack the necessary parental and social support to withstand the influenceof such programming. "Psychologists confirmthat children exposed to violence are sometimes as traumatized as childrenin war zones. The researchers found that child psychologicaladjustment was influenced more in female subjects than in male subjects bythe general climate of conflict existing within the home. Bjorkqvist and Osterman (1992) measured parental influence on the self-estimated aggressiveness of a sample of adolescents. The studyfound that for both boys and girls, the amount of television watched at ageeight predicted the seriousness of criminal acts for which they wereconvicted by age thirty. Phi DeltaKappan, 76(5), K1-K12. The social psychological approach to the explanation of social life isthe interactionist paradigm (Babbie, 1992). The Effects of Television violence on Child Behavior: summary This study examined the relationship between viewing by children oftelevision programming with violent content and manifestations of violentor aggressive behavioral tendencies by children. C. The aggressiveness of boys in the second community, which didnot receive television then, remained unchanged. Second- and now third-generation effects are accumulating at a time of unprecedented youthviolence.Violent Television Programming, Violent Behavior, and Time Spent WatchingTelevision Prolonged childhood exposure to television (a minimum of years) hasbeen found to be positively related physical aggressiveness later in achild's life (Centerwall, 1989a). R., Surdy, T., & O'Laughlin, E. Violence, thus, may be viewedas a behavior designed to gain approval from others, or such behavior maybe viewed as an "in your face" reaction to efforts by others to dictatesocial behavior. The findings of this study supported the hypothesis that violence is alearned behavior by children. (1993,). The apartheid government of the Republic of South Africa prohibitedtelevision broadcasting prior to 1975, at a time when the white segment ofthat country's population was prosperous and industrialized Westernsociety. references Babbie, E., Jr. Thus violenceendures deep in the psyches of children long after their immediatevictimization" (Sauter, 1995, p. American City &County, 1 9, 14. Centerwall also appeared to give too little credence to the tumultuoussocial development of the United States compared with that of Canada whenrationalizing that the Vietnam War and other American disasters could bediscounted because Canada's homicide rate also changed. Studies have found that the average American pre-school child watchesmore than 27 hours of television each week (Centerwall, 1993). Today homicide is thethird leading cause of death for all children between the ages of 5 and 14,the second leading cause of death for all young people between the ages of1 and 24, and the leading cause of death among African Americans of bothsexes between the ages of 15 and 34. (6th ed.).Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company. The study also examined therelationship between parental substance abuse and conduct-disorderexhibited by the children of such parents. 27). Washington: U.S. Meanings are "modifiedthrough an interpretive process used by the person with things he or sheencounters" (LaRossa & Reitzes, 1993, p. Standing up to violence. H., & Repetti, R. One research question was investigated in this study. The aggressivenessof boys in the first community increased after the introduction oftelevision. (1989a). The AmericanPsychological Association also found that "children who show a fearless,impulsive temperament very early in life may have a predisposition foraggression and violent behavior" ("Violence and youth," 1993, p. K3).Sauter (1995), thus, also raises the specter of television violence as thecause of violence perpetrated by and against children in the United States. This study is importantbecause criminal activity generally and violent behavior particularlycommitted by children in the United States is increasing as the overallrates of both violent and non-violent crime in this country are decliningto some extent. Theoretical Criminology. K5). Sauter (1995) and Centerwall (1989)would have one accept the argument that (1) television has cause childrento become violent and (2) television has so desensitized parents toviolence that they simply ignore the situation. Block, D., & Newman, M. Consequences of retaliatoryaggression against siblings and peers: Urban minority children'sexpectations. The real surprise in thistheory is that its proponents can make such pronouncements and then wonderwhy most people view them as imbecilic charlatans. 119). M., Del Rosario, M. R. Our cultural perplexities:Television and violent crime. This hypothesis is as follows: Exposure to violent programming is a causal factor in decisionsto engage in violent behavior by children whose developmental environmentlacks parental and social support to counter the influence of exposure toviolent television programming. Both female and male subjects expressed the belief to researchersthat aggressive retaliatory behavior on their part directed at peers wouldbe more effective as a deterrent to additional aggressive behavior by peersthat such behavior on their part directed toward siblings would likelydeter additional aggressive behavior on the part of siblings. Jaycox, L. This approach, however, begs the question of why parents allow theirchildren to behave violently and why parents allow their children toengaged in high-risk behavior, and why parents apparently care so littleabout their children that they are not sufficiently active in the lives oftheir children to stop the violence. (1992). The findings of this study support the hypothesis that violence is alearned behavior by children. 56). Vold, G. The size of the sample was 174 subjects, of which 85 (48.9percent) were female and 89 (51.1 percent) were male. Crime bill targets guns. Research has found that infants asyoung as 14 months old demonstrably observe and incorporate behavior seenon television (Block & Newman, 1995). (1992). Purpose and Significance of the Study This study examines the relationship between viewing by children oftelevision programming with violent content and manifestations of violentor aggressive behavioral tendencies by children. The violent crime arrest rate for all persons increasedfrom approximately 21 per 1 , population in 1985 to approximately 29 per 1 , population in 1991-an increase of 38 percent over the period.At the same time, however, the violent crime arrest rate for persons aged1 -to-17 years old increased from approximately 3 5 per 1 , populationin 1985 to approximately 465 per 1 , population in 1991-an increase of52 percent over the period and an increase that stated from a higher baselevel (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1996). This approach is consistent with the concept ofsymbolic interactionism. S. (1991, January-March).Parent survey on television violence viewing: Fear, aggression, and sexdifferences. Centerwall, B. The Effects of Television violence on Child Behavior: outlineINTRODUCTIONSTATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMPURPOSE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDYTHEORETICAL FRAMEWORKRESEARCH QUESTION AND HYPOTHESISREVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Introduction to the Literature Early Viewing Habits Violent Television Programming, Violent Behavior, and Time Spent Watching Television Studies Involving Children With Delayed and Limited Access to Television Television violence and Violence As A Learned BehaviorCONCLUSIONREFERENCES The Effects of Television violence on Child Behavior Introduction Several studies have reported a high correlation between exposure toviolent television programming and violent behavioral tendencies amongchildren (Clark, 1995; Lazar, 1994; Ridley, Surdy, & O'Laughlin, 1991). Thisprocess is especially relevant to the impact on children of televisionexperiences. Hochschild, A. Ridley, J. Bureau of Justice Statistics. The researchers foundthat male subjects tended to believe that parents would be moredisapproving of aggressive retaliation against siblings than they woulddisapprove of such behavior directed at peers. The interactionist model posits that social factors "enter not simplybefore and after but interactively during the experience of emotion"(Hochschild, 199 , p. The modeling hypothesis was supported in relation to bothaggressive and non aggressive adolescents (Bjorkqvist & Osterman, 1992). Turner, J. Social learning theory and developmentalpsychology. Fortunately, not allsocial psychologists promote this view. If this were so, it would be expected that, asthe initial television generation grew up, rates of serious violence wouldfirst begin to rise among children, then several years later it would beginto rise among adolescents, then still later among young adults, and so on.And that is what is observed" (Centerwall, 1989a, p. Child-level factors incorporated into the study asvariables were (1) social cognition, (2) intelligence, (3) earlydevelopmental difficulties, (4) biological sex, and (5) age. Television and theCanadian Indian. The increase was observed in bothboys and girls, in those children who were aggressive to begin with and inthose who were not aggressive. In a further analysis of the Canada-South Africa-United Statesfindings, Centerwall (1989a) noted that a "comparison of South Africa withonly the United States could easily lead to the hypothesis that USinvolvement in the Vietnam War or the turbulence of the civil rightsmovement was responsible for the doubling of homicide rates in the UnitedStates. (1994, December). Bjorkqvist, K., & Osterman, K. K6). One hypothesis is tested in relation to the research questioninvestigated. The hypothesis tested was supported. The psychological maladjustment of children was found tobe the greatest among subjects who resident in maltreating homes as opposedto those subjects residing in non maltreating homes (Downey & Walker,1992). As emotions are conceived in theinteractionist model, social forces provide shape to biological sensations,thereby creating "a strip of experience with a name, a history, a meaning,and a consequence of a certain sort" (Hochschild, 199 , p. To solvethis problem, society must devise strategies to find and disarm kids withguns" (p. New York: Oxford University Press. Inspite of these findings and others, however, the causal link betweenviewing violence on television and imitative child behavior continues to bea controversial issue (Tulloch, 1995). This study is importantbecause criminal activity generally and violent behavior particularlycommitted by children in the United States is increasing as the overallrates of both violent and non-violent crime in this country are decliningto some extent. Clark, C. Forty-five first- and second-grade students in the three towns were observed for rates of inappropriatephysical aggression before television was introduced into the targetcommunity. (1996). When multiple-offender crimes of violence areconsidered, the number of such violent acts attributed to persons under theage of 21 years old leaps to 41 percent from the 29 percent level forsingle-offender acts of violence (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1996). Parentalresponsibility is a major causal factor. A. reach a saturation point 1 -to-15 years" following thesaturation of a society with television broadcasting (p. This researchquestion is as follows: Is exposure to violent television programming a causal factor indecisions by children to engage in violent behavior? When all violent crimes-whether or not cleared by arrest-are considered, however, the proportion ofsuch crimes committed by young persons increases. K4). The ability to imitate behavior is both useful andnecessary for child development. This hypothesis is as follows: Exposure to violent programming is a causal factor in decisionsto engage in violent behavior by children whose developmental environmentlacks parental and social support to counter the influence of exposure toviolent television programming. The fact is thatCanada's homicide rate remained at a level less than one-half that in theUnited States, regardless of the fact that television was introduced intoeach country at approximately the same time. Of the 144subjects, 68 (47.2 percent) were female and 76 (52.8 percent) were male.The mean age of the female subjects was 9.4 years, while the mean age ofthe male subjects was 1 .17 years. Child Development, 64(6), 1773-1785. Herzberger, S. Tulloch, M. The family-level factors incorporatedinto the study as variables were (1) maltreatment and (2) parentalpsychopathology. 45). With respectto the debate concerning the relationship of television violence tosocietal violence, Sitarski (1996) adds that although this relationship "ishard to pinpoint, the fact is that most young people in this country watchan enormous amount of television, during which they see many acts ofviolence. Viewing violent programmingon television can lead to violent behavior by children, if such childrenlack the necessary parental and social support to withstand the influenceof such programming. 23). More than one-half ofall serious offenses committed by juveniles were committed by approximatelyeight-percent of the juvenile population. Approximately seven-percent of all juvenile delinquencyreferrals to juvenile courts involved violent crime. Even cartoons and video games are violent" (p. Through ages three and four, most children areunable to distinguish fact from fantasy on television, whether or not thechildren receive any adult coaching. During approximately the same period in SouthAfrica, where television broadcasting was prohibited, the homicide rate forwhites decreased by seven-percent, from 2.7 homicides per 1 , population in 1943 to 2.5 homicides per 1 , population in 1974. E. (1993, Spring). The hypothesis tested was supported. To evaluate the effects of exposure to television as a cause ofviolent behavior, Centerwall (1989a) examined homicide rates in SouthAfrica, Canada, and the United States. A strength of this theory is held to be its ability to explain whymany youth delinquents do not become adult criminals. In fact, an American child today is 15times more likely to be killed by gunfire than was a child in war-ravagedNorthern Ireland before the recent peace talks. (4thed.). 18). The researchers concluded that the expectations ofboth parental disapproval of aggressive retaliation behavior and theanticipated reaction of the targets of such behavior promote greateraggressive behavior directed at peers than at siblings. The key argument of symbolic interactionism isthat human actions are understood best in terms of the meaning that thoseactions have for the actors, rather than in terms of pre-existingbiological, psychological, or social conditions. Silverstein, K. 1-58. (1992). Centerwall (1989a) found that, in both Canada and the United States, alag of 1 -to-15 years occurred between the introduction of television andthe "subsequent doubling of the homicide rate. Centerwall (1989a) found that, in both Canada and the United States, alag of 1 -to-15 years occurred between the introduction of television andthe "subsequent doubling of the homicide rate. Williams, T. While children have an instinctive desireto imitate, however, children do not possess an instinct for determiningwhether a specific behavior should be imitated. 135-163. J. Parental example is a majorcausal factor. Activeconcepts of human development, by contrast with passive concepts, hold thatindividuals are not passive beings, but, rather, are capable of activelygoverning their own development. In the instance of serious crime committed by youngoffenders, the types of crimes and the characteristics of the individualscommitting the offenses are largely known. Mortimer (1994) postulated that as aggression is a learned behavior,television violence has an impact on children. (1993). homicides per 1 , population in 1945to 5.8 homicides per 1 , in 1974. Centerwall (1989a) pointed-out that the white populations of Canada,South Africa, and the United States were socially similar in many ways."In the period immediately preceding the introduction of television intoCanada and the United States, all three countries were multiparty,representative, federal democracies with strong Christian religiousinfluences, where people of nonwhite races were generally excluded frompolitical power. (1995, 4 February). Children who watched much television at age eightlater, as parents, punished their own children more severely than didparents who had watched less television as children. Exposure to television as a risk factor forviolence. (1996). Within a social group,individuals develop both their own self-concept and individual identitythrough social interactions within the group structure. These findings also illustrate, however,that all violence is not learned by children through television viewing.Most violent behavior likely is learned either in the home or in high-riskenvironments that children are allowed to enter because of parentalneglect. Theresearchers found further that subjects expected that younger siblings moreso than older siblings would regret being the target of aggressiveretaliatory action. Theresearchers found that the child-level factors both as a group andindividually were less influential as predictors of aggressive behavior onthe part of the subjects than were the family-level factors both as a groupand individually. The researchers found that, for male subjects,the emotional relationships (as these relationships were perceived by thesubjects) between themselves and their parents was a more influentialdeterminant of aggressive behavior by the child than was the actualbehavior of the subject's parents. 147). Two years later, the same forty-five children were observedagain. R.,& Steinmetz, S. Humanist, 56(3),23-25. Ideology and emotion management: Aperspective and path for future research. Young children, as aconsequence, will imitate any behavior-including behavior that most adultsregard as destructive and antisocial. There, of course, isthe answer: Youthful criminal behavior is nothing more than boys having funbefore they grow up and become solid citizens. Sourcebook of family theories and methods: Acontextual approach. Researchers from the University ofBritish Columbia investigated the effect of television on the children ofthis community by comparing their behaviors to those of two similar townsthat had had television for several years. The American PsychologicalAssociation found that "lack of parental supervision is one of thestrongest predictors of the development of conduct problems anddelinquency" ("Violence and youth," 1993, p. Journal of FamilyPsychology, 7(3), 344-355. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 12(1), 63-71. M. 14). Distinguishing family-level and child-level influences on the development of depression and aggression inchildren at risk. Downey, G., & Walker, E. The study foundfurther that child maladjustment was independent of anger and discord ineither the marital relationship or parent-child relationships. D., Wharton,J. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 25, 149-153. (1994, October). Crime, particularly violent crime, has been a major concern of theAmerican population for decades. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 11(1), 3-19. Identity refers to"self-meanings in a role" (LaRossa & Reitzes, 1993, p. This predictiverelationship remained true even after controlling for the children'sbaseline aggressiveness, intelligence, and socioeconomic status. LaRossa, R., & Reitzes, D. Anarticle in the American Family Physician reported that "a child who was twoyears old in 1993 will have witnessed 7, murders on television by thetime he/she reaches the age of seven" ("Family Violence," 1994, p. The useof violence, viewed from a conflict perspective, thus, might be explainedas a behavior designed to insulate the users of violence from the effectsof the oppression of those individuals and groups able to exercise controlin the society. Hennigan, K. Substance abuse by fathers was found to be moreinfluential than that by mothers (Gabel & Shindledecker, 1992). Forty-nine third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade boys living in twocommunities were observed from 1973, when one town acquired television,until 1977, when the second town acquired television. C. Since the ban on television was notbased on any concerns regarding television and violence, there was no self-selection bias with respect to the hypothesis being tested" (Centerwall,1989a, p. According tothe interactionist model, social factors help to shape feeling as feelingis being experienced by a person. While Centerwall (1989) took great care to assure readers that thewhite segments of the populations of Canada, South Africa, and the UnitedStates were sufficiently similar prior to the mid-194 s to permit him toisolate most probable cause of the dramatic increases in homicides inCanada and the United States from the mid-194 s to the mid-197 s to theintroduction of television broadcasting into those societies, he did nottake care to provide similar assurances about South Africa during the 1975-1987 period. To prevent bias in the data, the research assistants who collectedthe data were kept uninformed as to why the children's rates of aggressionwere of interest. Pointedly, the American Psychological Association did not fingerviewing violent programming on television as the prime causal factor ofviolent behavior among children. Developmental Psychology, 28, 776-786. In Comstock, G. Evaluating aggression: Schoolstudents' responses to television portrayals of institutionalized violence.Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24(1), 96-115. Centerwall (1989b) added that to contend that "childhood exposure totelevision and television violence is a predisposing factor behind half ofviolent acts is not to discount the importance of other factors.Manifestly, every violent act is the result of an array of forces comingtogether-poverty, crime, alcohol and drug abuse, stress-of which childhoodexposure to television is just one. Deaths: Whites, Coloureds andAsians, 1987. Sauter (1995) also noted that "a direct and indisputable connectionbetween violence in the home or against children in the home and subsequentviolent behavior by those children" exists (p. (1993). (Eds.). Prior violenceinvolvement includes having been a victim of abuse. 46). Sauter, R. Public Interest, (111), 56-71. In Kemper, T. Social learning theory, as an example, positsthat individuals learn behaviors by being exposed to such behaviors(Babbie, 1992). S., & Helms, D. Thus, it appears somewhat naive onCenterwall's part to attribute the increase in the homicide rate amongwhites in South Africa during the 1975-1987 period primarily to theintroduction of television broadcasting in 1975. In another Canadian study, Granzberg and Steinbring (198 )investigated the impact of television on Indian communities in northernManitoba. D., & Hall, J. The fact is thatCanada's homicide rate remained at a level less than one-half that in theUnited States, regardless of the fact that television was introduced intoeach country at approximately the same time. Social learning theory is posited as the way in which viewing violentprogramming on television is translated into violent behavior by children.Children begin to imitate adult behaviors at the earliest ages. Lazar, B. Female subjects moreso than male subjects expressed a belief that they would regret aggressiveretaliatory behavior against a younger sibling more so than they wouldregret such behavior directed at an older sibling. Eron and Huesmann (1984) also observed second-generation effects. In later life,serious violence is most likely to erupt at moments of severe stress. The conflict paradigm views social life as a struggle betweenindividuals and groups competing within a society (Babbie, 1992). Crime, particularly violent crime, has been a major concern of theAmerican population for decades. A particularly troublesome factor inrecent years has been the increase in the proportion of all crimes whichare perpetrated by young offenders. Washington:American Psychological Association. homicides per 1 , population in 1945to 5.8 homicides per 1 , in 1974. During that period, South African society entered the turmoilof the black revolution, while enduring mounting international pressures onthe apartheid government of that country. A particularly troublesome factor inrecent years has been the increase in the proportion of all crimes whichare perpetrated by young offenders (Silverstein, 1994). One must, therefore, considerthe possibility that some characteristic of Canadian society moderated thehomicide rate in that country, while characteristics of American societyother than the effects of television contributed to the increase in violentbehavior in that country. This study is importantbecause criminal activity generally and violent behavior particularlycommitted by children in the United States is increasing as the overallrates of both violent and non-violent crime in this country are decliningto some extent. (1995, February). Television was introduced into the Republic of South Africa in 1975.By 1987 (in just 12 years), the homicide rate for whites in South Africaincreased to 5.8 homicides per 1 , population-an increase of 132percent (Central Statistical Service, 1989). Sitarski, K. L., LaRossa, R., Schumm, W. (1995, 17 November). All of these activities "interfere with normal development,with learning in school, and with living a happy childhood. One hypothesis is tested in relation to the research questioninvestigated. D., & Calder, B. Subjects were also asked to assessthe emotional relationships that existed between themselves and each oftheir parents. 12 ). (198 ). Violence & youth: Psychology's response, Vol. When television wasintroduced in the second community, however, observed levels ofaggressiveness increased among the children in that community (Granzbergand Steinbring, 198 ). (199 , January). C. Thecombined abuse of alcohol and other substances was also found to be areliable predictor of conduct-disorder behavior in the children of thesubstance abuser. (1986). The practice of social research. (1995, January). (1982). Gabel and Shindledecker (1992) investigated the relationship betweensubstance abuse by parents and severe aggressive/destructive behavior bythe children of substance abusing parents. Roles are"shared norms applied by occupants of social positions" (LaRossa & Reitzes,1993, p. 117-142. (Ed.). Meaning, thus, "arises in the process of interactionbetween people" (LaRossa & Reitzes, 1993, p. K5). 1638).That same child will have been exposed to 1 , acts of interpersonalviolence through television viewing by the time he or she graduates fromhigh school (Reynolds, 1993). The mean age of the members of the sample was13.6 years. Within the social learning theory group, neutralization theory, positsthat young people learn ways of neutralizing moral restraints, and, as aconsequence, drift into and out of criminal behavior patterns (Babbie,1992). Persons under theage of 18 years old are responsible for approximately 32 percent of seriousproperty crimes which are cleared by arrest and for approximately 17percent of violent crimes so cleared (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1996).In the instance of serious crime committed by young offenders, the types ofcrimes and the characteristics of the individuals committing the offensesare largely known. 57). 143). The researchersalso reported that differences in expectations related to aggressiveretaliatory behavior were not found to vary according to racial or ethnicorigin (Herzberger & Hall, 1993). One research question was investigated in this study. The aggression-enhancing effect of early, prolongedexposure to television violence, however, becomes chronic, extending intoadolescence and adulthood (Centerwall, 1989a).Studies Involving Children With Delayed and Limited Access to Television In 1973, a remote rural community in Canada acquired television forthe first time (Williams, 1986). Lifespan development. Statement of the Problem Children begin to imitate adult behaviors at the earliest ages (Block& Newman, 1995). K. While Centerwall took great care to assure readers that the whitesegments of the populations of Canada, South Africa, and the United Stateswere sufficiently similar prior to the mid-194 s to permit him to isolatemost probable cause of the dramatic increases in homicides in Canada andthe United States from the mid-194 s to the mid-197 s to the introductionof television broadcasting into those societies, he did not take care toprovide similar assurances about South Africa during the 1975-1987 period.During that period, South African society entered the turmoil of the blackrevolution, while enduring mounting international pressures on theapartheid government of that country. (1989b). American Journal of Epidemiology, 129, 643-652. 31). A large number of theory groups and separate theories areincluded in this paradigm. "Adolescents between the ages of 1 and 19 are killed with a gun ata rate of one every three hours. Parental influence onchildren's self-estimated aggressiveness Aggressive Behavior, 18(6), 411-423. Persons under the age of 18 years oldare responsible for approximately 32 percent of serious property crimeswhich are cleared by arrest and for approximately 17 percent of violentcrimes so cleared. S. Of this total,55 (52.9 percent) were female subjects and 49 (47.1 percent) were malesubjects. The researchers reviewed therecords of 349 discharged child patients from several hospital treatmentprograms. (1989). Grusec, J. Based on the study of Canada, South Africa, and the United States,Centerwall (1989a) concluded that the "introduction of television in the195 s caused a subsequent doubling of the homicide rate, ie, long-termchildhood exposure to television is a causal factor behind approximatelyone half of the homicides committed in the United States, or approximately1 , homicides annually. Given that homicide isprimarily an adult activity, if television exerts its behavior-modifyingeffects primarily on children, the initial 'television generation' wouldhave had to age 1 to 15 years before they would have been old enough toaffect the homicide rate. By any reckoning, the youthviolent crime problem is serious and growing worse. Theresearchers also found support for the hypothesis that adolescents tend tomodel their behaviors after those of their parents with respect to conflictmanagement. Mortimer, J. The effect of paternal abuse of non alcohol substanceswas found to be a more powerful predictor of both aggression and conduct-disorder behavior in children than was the maternal abuse of either alcoholor non alcohol substances. S. K3). The American Psychological Association found that "the strongestdevelopmental predictor of a child's involvement in violence is a historyof previous violence" ("Violence and youth," 1993, p. (5th ed.).New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. D., & Huesmann, L. (1993). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 461-477. Impact of the introduction of television oncrime in the United States: Empirical findings and theoreticalimplications. Such a repeated exposure to depictions ofviolence "serves to desensitize the viewer as the pain and other effects ofviolence are minimized or not shown" ("Family Violence," 1994, p. 1. (Eds.). Orlando,Florida: Academic Press. Journal ofAdolescent Health Care, 11(1), 31-44. Social learning theory is posited as the way in which viewing violentprogramming on television is translated into violent behavior by children.Children begin to imitate adult behaviors at the earliest ages. The origins of social learning theory lies in attempts to combinepsychoanalytic and stimulus-response theory into a comprehensiveexplanation of human behavior (Grusec, 1992). Centerwall also appeared to give too little credence to the tumultuoussocial development of the United States compared with that of Canada whenrationalizing that the Vietnam War and other American disasters could bediscounted because Canada's homicide rate also changed. (1994, February). In 1995, as anillustration, 19 percent of all single-offender violent criminal acts wereperpetrated by persons under the age of 18 years old (Bureau of JusticeStatistics, 1996). Integrated theories attempt to explainsocial behavior through the amalgamation of several other theories into asingle comprehensive, integrated theory. These meanings are tosome extent created by the individual concerned, but primarily they arederived from intimate personal interactions with other people. Although the data are not as well developed forother forms of violence, they indicate that exposure to television is alsoa causal factor behind a major proportion-perhaps one-half of rapes,assaults, and other forms of interpersonal violence in the United States"(p. None provided a viable alternativeexplanation for the observed homicide trends" (Centerwall, 1989a, p. (1984). How TV violence hits kids. L., Heath, L., Cook, T. Conclusion This study examined the relationship between viewing by children oftelevision programming with violent content and manifestations of violentor aggressive behavioral tendencies by children. "Thus, an entire population of 2 million whites-rich and poor,urban and rural, educated and uneducated-was nonselectively and absolutelyexcluded from exposure to television for a quarter century after the mediumwas introduced into the United States. In Boss, P. Rather, such behavior must be viewed inits entire social context. Television violence andchildren. Young children, as a consequence,will imitate any behavior-including behavior that most adults regard asdestructive and antisocial. A passive concept of humandevelopment emphasizes the critical significance of one's environment tothe overall development of the individual (Turner & Helms, 1996). Thus, it appears somewhat naiveon Centerwall's part to attribute the increase in the homicide rate amongwhites in South Africa during the 1975-1987 period primarily to theintroduction of television broadcasting in 1975. 21). Family violence: An AAFP white paper. G., Doherty, W. In addition, I examined an array ofpossible confounding variables-changes in age distribution, urbanization,economic conditions, alcohol consumption, capital punishment, civil unrest,and the availability of firearms. There is strong support in the literature for the contention thatviewing violent programming on television by children is a prime causalfactor of later episodes of violent behavior on the part of such children.A study by Eron and Huesmann (1984) found that for both boys and girls, theamount of television watched at age eight predicted the seriousness ofcriminal acts for which they were convicted by age thirty. Criminal victimization in theUnited States. One can hardly flip channels without witnessing a murder,beating, or sexual assault. One hypothesis is tested in relation to the research questioninvestigated. There are nolimits to the credulity of young children. (1992). R. Jaycox and Repetti (1993) investigated the relationship betweenconflict within families and the psychological adjustment of preadolescentchildren. Throughages three and four, most children are unable to distinguish fact fromfantasy on television, whether or not the children receive any adultcoaching. More than one-half of all serious offenses committed by juvenileswere committed by approximately eight-percent of the juvenile population. S. B. Reynolds S. The wheel of violence. 1638). Gabel, S., & Shindledecker, R. During approximately the same period in SouthAfrica, where television broadcasting was prohibited, the homicide rate forwhites decreased by seven-percent, from 2.7 homicides per 1 , population in 1943 to 2.5 homicides per 1 , population in 1974(Centerwall, 1989a). D. The American Psychological Association,however, did state that a "breakdown of family processes and relationships"contributes to "the development of antisocial behaviors, includingviolence" ("Violence and youth," 1993, p. The great majority of the subjects were either African-Americanor Hispanic American in racial and ethnic origin. Although television broadcasting was prohibited prior to1975, white South Africa had well-developed hook, newspaper, radio, andcinema industries. Subjects also completed selected parts of the Buss-DurkeeHostility-Guilt Inventory. While children have an instinctive desire to imitate,however, children do not possess an instinct for determining whether aspecific behavior should be imitated. News programs are chronicles of violentevents. (Ed.). 145). 25). Teen-agers are more than 2 ½ times aslikely to be victims of violent crime as are those over 2 years of age"(Sauter, 1995, p. In that television-based world, violence is common, and the commission ofviolence is "generally powerful, exciting, charismatic, and effective. (1996, May-June). New York: Plenum Press, pp. Alcohol abuse in conjunction with the abuse of othersubstances, however, was found to be a powerful predictor of tendenciestoward aggressive behavior by the children of the substance abusers. Centerwall, B. TV violence: An American public health epidemic.California Physician, 41-45. Theoretical Framework The functionalist approach to the explanation of social behaviorfocuses on the organizational structure of social life (Babbie, 1992).This theoretical paradigm holds that individual behavior is a function ofthe way a society is put together-because of the structure, specificbehaviors are promoted or facilitated (Babbie, 1992). EducationDigest, 6 (4), 16-19. (1994, June). In the wake of the introduction oftelevision into Canada, the Canadian homicide rate increased by 92 percent,from 1.3 homicides per 1 , population in 1945 to 2.5 homicides per1 , population in 1974. K7). B., & Bernard, T. As children get older, they come to a clearer understanding oftelevision programming; however, the earliest and deepest impressions ofthese children are established at an age when they still see television asa factual source of information about the outside world (Centerwall, 1993). Deceptiveappearances: Television violence and aggressive behavior. In particular, the argument is that suchbehavior can be understood only within the context of the reactions to suchbehavior by other people. With respect to violent behavior generally and violent behavior bychildren specifically, the United States is unique in the world, with byfar the highest incidence rates among all developed countries (Sauter,1995). Sauter (1995) pointed-out that the American "culture of violence isromanticized in our history and in our entertainment. Conflict in families and thepsychological adjustment of preadolescent children. Subjects were askedto complete a questionnaire in which they evaluated both their own behaviorand that of their parents when angry. (1993). J. 119). Interparental discord, however, was found to be associated with increasedtendencies toward aggressive behavior by the children of such maritalpartners (Jaycox & Repetti, 1993). Central Statistical Service. These studies also illustrate that all violence isnot learned by children through television viewing. In the wake of the introduction oftelevision into Canada, the Canadian homicide rate increased by 92 percent,from 1.3 homicides per 1 , population in 1945 to 2.5 homicides per1 , population in 1974. Inlater life, serious violence is most likely to erupt at moments of severestress-and it is precisely at such moments that adolescents and adults aremost likely to revert to their earliest, most visceral sense of the role ofviolence in society and in personal behavior" (Centerwall, 1993, p. 23). Various theories of humandevelopment often tend to view people as either active or passive ininteractions with their environments. Research Question and Hypothesis One research question is investigated in this study. Younger male siblings were expected to feel worseabout such retaliation than younger female siblings. The sample was drawnfrom a Finnish population. Review of the LiteratureIntroduction to the Literature Literature relevant to the research question investigated is reviewed. This predictive relationship remained true evenafter controlling for the children's baseline aggressiveness, intelligence,and socioeconomic status. Although 8 , children were killed by guns in the United States from1983 through 1995, "the American public-numbed by decades of television,radio, newspaper, and real-life images of dehumanizing violence-has notresponded to the loss of so many children and teenagers with the samesorrow, anger, or grief as was roused by Vietnam" (Sauter, 1995, p. Downey and Walker (1992) investigated the influence on both depressionand aggression in children of both family-level factors and child-levelfactors. CQ Researcher, 1 19-1 21. One must, therefore, considerthe possibility that some characteristic of Canadian society moderated thehomicide rate in that country, while characteristics of American societyother than the effects of television contributed to the increase in violentbehavior in that country. Theability to imitate behavior is both useful and necessary for childdevelopment. (199 ). Rates ofaggression did not change in the two control communities between the twoobservations. This researchquestion is as follows: Is exposure to violent television programming a causal factor indecisions by children to engage in violent behavior? This researchquestion is as follows: Is exposure to violent television programming a causal factor indecisions by children to engage in violent behavior? ...Although public opinion is shifting, legislative moves against guns aredecried as unconstitutional. Therefore, the effect of television could be isolatedfrom that of other media influences. The inclusion of Canada as a control group precludes thesehypotheses, since Canadians likewise experienced a doubling of homiciderates without involvement in the Vietnam War and without the turbulence ofthe US civil rights movement" (p. (Ed.). Comstock, G., & Strasburger, V. In the midst of ayouth murder epidemic, a film like Natural Born Killer becomes a nationwidesensation, and its soundtrack blares from teenagers' boom boxes. Why social work should care: Televisionviolence and children. Control theories, by contrast, hold that all persons havea potential for criminal behavior and that contemporary society afford theopportunity to engage in such behavior. If this were so, it would be expected that, asthe initial television generation grew up, rates of serious violence wouldfirst begin to rise among children, then several years later it would beginto rise among adolescents, then still later among young adults, and so on.And that is what is observed" (Centerwall, 1989a, p. Ourculture of violence has spawned the children of violence, even childmurderers, and suddenly we seem shocked" (p. (199 ). Young adult suicide and exposure totelevision. Thus, the interactionist model recognizesseveral "points of social entry" (Hochschild, 199 , p. The American Psychological Association reported that the post-traumatic stress that children experience as either victims of or witnessesto violence "includes intrusive imagery, emotional constriction oravoidance, fears of recurrence, sleep difficulties, disinterest insignificant activities, and attention difficulties" ("Violence and Youth,1993, p. S. Sex, violence, and the media: Theissues. As children get older, they come to a clearer understanding oftelevision programming; however, the earliest and deepest impressions ofthese children are established at an age when they still see television asa factual source of information about the outside world. Albany, New York: State University ofNew York Press, pp. 21). There is strong support in the literature for the contention thatviewing violent programming on television by children is a prime causalfactor of later episodes of violent behavior on the part of such children.One must consider, however, the possibility that some characteristic ofsociety other than the effects of television contributed to the increase inviolent behavior in that country. (1992). 41). Comstock and Strasburger (199 ) also foundsupport for a hypothesis that exposure to television violence increases thelikelihood of subsequent aggressive and anti-social behavior in childrenand adolescents. Centerwall, B. While more laws may help and strictenforcement would help even more, new laws are clearly not the answer.Most states already prohibit juveniles from carrying handguns and automaticweapons, but these laws have made little difference in the past. The mean age of the 349 children included in the study was 12.4years at the time of admission to the relevant treatment program. L. Between 1985 and 1992, the proportion of persons arrested for theoffense of murder who are under the age of 18 years old increased fromapproximately eight-percent to approximately 15 percent (Bureau of JusticeStatistics, 1996). A studyby Centerwall (1993) found that prolonged childhood exposure to television(a minimum of two-years) to be positively related physical aggressivenesslater in a child's life. Sitarski (1996) holds thattelevision "contributes to a mind-set of violence" (p. & Steinbring, J. In the minds of young children,television is a source of entirely factual information regarding how theworld works. With respect to female subjects, theresearchers found that the behaviors of fathers and the subject'sperception of the relationship between herself and her father was thestrongest factor influencing aggressive behavior by the subject. Public communication and behavior.Orlando, Florida: Academic Press Inc., pp. The average American pre-school child watches more than 27 hours oftelevision each week. Exposure to television as a cause ofviolence. Television's enhancement of noxiousaggression was entirely general and not limited to a few so called badapples (Williams, 1986). British medical Journal, 31 (6975): 273-274. Centerwall (1989a) found that, in the wake of the introduction oftelevision into the United States, the annual homicide rate for whitesincreased by 93 percent, from 3. Alcoholabuse alone was found to be less important that the abuse of othersubstances as a predictor of aggressive behavior by the children of thesubstance abuser. Every year since 195 , thenumber of American children gunned down has doubled. Later variations in exposure totelevision during adolescence and adulthood do not exert any additionaleffect on individuals (Hennigan, Del Rosario, Heath, Cook, Wharton, &Calder, 1982). Young children, as a consequence,will imitate any behavior-including behavior that most adults regard asdestructive and antisocial. 26). Researchagendas in the sociology of emotions. AmericanFamily Physician, 5 (8), 1636-1641. Sauter (1995) also pointed-out that most "observers agree that theeasy availability of firearms is clearly a contributing factor to theunacceptable level of youth murder that haunts our communities. Centerwall (1989a) also found that, in the wake of the introduction oftelevision into the United States, the annual homicide rate for whitesincreased by 93 percent, from 3. By contrast, the rate of aggression among children in thetarget community increased 16 percent. A. 46). (1993). Pretoria, South Africa: Government Printer. 143). Parental substance abuse andits relationship to severe aggression and antisocial behavior in youth.American Journal on Addictions, 2(1), 48-58. Herzberger and Hall (1993) compared the effects of expected (bychildren) parental reactions to aggressive retaliation by children againstboth siblings and peers as an inhibitor of such behavior. Orlando, Florida: Academic Press, pp.139-171. While children have an instinctive desire to imitate,however, children do not possess an instinct for determining whether aspecific behavior should be imitated. The findings of the literature review are presented in discussions relatedto (1) the effects of early viewing habits, (2) violent televisionprogramming, violent behavior, and time spent watching television, (3)studies involving children with delayed and limited access to television,and (4) television violent, and violence as a learned behavior.Early Viewing Habits In a study conducted from 196 to 1981, 875 children living in a semi-rural United States county were tracked (Eron & Huesmann, 1984). These findings also illustrated, however,that all violence is not learned by children through television viewing.Most violent behavior likely is learned either in the home or in high-riskenvironments that children are allowed to enter because of parentalneglect. I. Social control theory hypothesizesthat unacceptable social behavior is the product of a weakening of thesocial ties within a society. Theability to imitate behavior is both useful and necessary for childdevelopment. Government Printing Office. These studies support the hypothesis that violence is a learnedbehavior by children. Symbolic interactionism andfamily studies. The researchsample included 1 4 young persons aged 1 -to-14 year sold. Development & Psychopathology, 4(1), 81-95. Nevertheless, the epidemiologicevidence indicates that if, hypothetically, television technology had neverbeen developed, there would today be 1 , fewer homicides each year inthe United States, 7 , fewer rapes, and 7 , fewer injuriousassaults" (p. In the minds of young children, television is a source ofentirely factual information regarding how the world works. By contrast, the femalesubjected were found by the researchers to believe that parents would beequally disapproving of aggressive retaliation against either siblings orpeers. There is a major difference in the rate of violent behavior by youngpersons depending upon the criterion measure that is used. During the same 12-yearperiod, the homicide rate in Canada has decreased from 2.5 homicides per1 , population to 2.2 homicides per 1 , population, while thehomicide rate for whites in the United States had decreased from 5.8homicides per 1 , population to 5.4 homicides per 1 , population.Centerwall (1989a) had predicted that "the effect of television on rates ofviolence would ... The interactionist paradigm views "social life as a process ofinteractions among individuals" (Babbie, 1992, p. The control of aggressivebehavior by changes in attitudes, values, and the conditions of learning.Advances in the study of aggression. Given that homicide isprimarily an adult activity, if television exerts its behavior-modifyingeffects primarily on children, the initial 'television generation' wouldhave had to age 1 to 15 years before they would have been old enough toaffect the homicide rate. There are no limits to the credulity of young children. Approximately seven-percent ofall juvenile delinquency referrals to juvenile courts involved violentcrime. When Centerwall (199 ) investigated the relationship betweentelevision and suicide, similar effects were not found. 648).Television Violence and Violence As A Learned Behavior Comstock and Strasburger (199 ) found support for a hypothesis thatexposure to television violence increases the likelihood of subsequentaggressive and anti-social behavior in children and adolescents. The interpretive processrelies on the use of symbols. Social reaction theorists maintain that it is not possible tounderstand deviant behavior merely by studying people whose behavior is solabeled (Vold & Bernard, 1993). The impact of television. Thatsaturation point, according to Centerwall, 1989a), occurred in Canada andthe United States in the early-197 s. Without drawing aconclusion that television has no role in the increasingly violent behavioramong children in the United States, it appears to be a rational thoughtthat television is not the sole nor even the primary culprit. Further, a new group of research assistants was employedthe second observation, so that the data gatherers would not be biased byrecollections of the children's behavior two years earlier. For all three countries, the studywas limited to the homicide rates of whites in the population becauseblacks in South Africa lived under vastly different social conditions fromblacks in the United States and Canada. Winnipeg, Manitoba: University of Winnipeg. Centerwall, B. With respect to theuse of violence to settle disputes, as an example, one functionalistexplanation would be that the complex structure of contemporary societymakes it difficult for people to make value judgments about the behavior. This hypothesis is as follows: Exposure to violent programming is a causal factor in decisionsto engage in violent behavior by children whose developmental environmentlacks parental and social support to counter the influence of exposure toviolent television programming.

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