Abstract

In recent years, many studies have concluded that violence in the media leads to actual violent, aggressive behavior in children. At the same time, many researchers have claimed that there is no connection between violent media content and children at all. How many murder scenes would the average person have to see in the media before they would finally kill someone? How many rape scenes would the average man or boy need to see before he is finally led to sexually force himself on a woman or young girl? The reality of crime, as bad as it may be, is not based entirely on media content. The purpose of this proposed research is to study the hypothesis that bad media content alone does not turn a good, well-behaved child into a bad child.

Introduction

On September 20, 2000, during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Sam Brownback said, "There is no longer a question as to whether exposing children to violent entertainment is a public health risk. It is -- just as surely as tobacco or alcohol" (Congressional Testimony, 2000).

In recent years, many studies have concluded that violence in the media leads to actual violent, aggressive behavior in children. At the same time, many researchers have claimed that there is no connection between violent media content and children at all (Hough & Erwin, 1997). While it may be true that violent media does not do anything positive to correct the problem, it is probably equally true that violent media is not the leading cause or the only cause of violent, aggressive behavior in children. At best, violence in the media is only one factor in a long list of factors.

How many murder scenes would the average person have to see in the media before they would finally kill someone? How many rape scenes would the average man or boy need to see before he is finally led to sexually force himself on a woman or young girl? The reality of crime, as bad as it may be, is not based entirely on media content. In fact, it may not really be based as much on media content as many researchers would think. This research proposal will consider the belief that bad media content alone does not turn a good, well-behaved child into a bad child.

Reviewing the literature shows that young people are sometimes aggressive because of their perceptions about a given situation. Sometimes, they are at risk for aggressive behavior because they have come from a bad environment. Sometimes, they are driven to their aggressive behavior because of their feelings of peer rejection. Sometimes, their behavior is simply a part of the normal growing process.

Regardless of which of these ways leads to aggressive behavior, bad media content alone does not explain why some young people become violent. For that reason, more research should be done to determine exactly which type of violent media content is most likely to negatively influence the behavior of young people. Also, additional studies should be done to see if a combination of factors, where violent media content might be just one of those factors, is the principle cause of aggressive behavior in young people.

Aggressive Behavior as a Function of Perceptions. Violence on television causes the viewer to develop hardened attitudes concerning violent acts against others, and it teaches the viewer that violence is an acceptable way to solve conflicts (Vessey, Yim-Chiplis, & MacKenzie, 1998). Judith Vessey also writes that some young children have even lost their lives emulating super heroes. So, a first question that one might consider concerning the issue of aggressive behavior in children, is why are some young people more violent than others?

A study on adolescent aggression found that aggressive people often perceive neutral situations as hostile and that people, in general, have thematic ways of viewing the world (Lennings, 1996). Hence, young people are sometimes aggressive because of their perceptions about an unreal threat in a given situation. In another study on proactive and reactive aggression in boys, the researchers concluded that a reactive aggressive behavior, which is the more negative of the two forms of aggression, was impulsive and hostile because of a perceived threat (Poulin & Boivin, 1999). So, once again, aggressive behavior in children was linked to a perceived threat, whether real or not, and media content was not even a factor.

The Effects of a Bad Environment. According to Hill M. Walker and Robert H. Horner, criminal activity in youth is driven by one or more of the following four factors: (1) early involvement with drugs and alcohol, (2) easy access to weapons, (3) association with antisocial groups, and (4) exposure to violent acts in the media. They add that young people in one or more of these four situations are even more likely to become aggressive if they are abused and/or neglected (Walker & Horner, 1996). Even though Walker and Horner include violent acts in the media as a possible influence for aggressive behavior in youth, they list it as the fourth of four causes, and they also link the likelihood of media-driven, violent behavior in children to abuse and/or neglect.

Studies have shown that children are affected by their parents’ beliefs and associated behaviors (Musser & Diamond, 1999). Aggressive behavior in children has been associated with parents who are cold and rejecting, who do little monitoring of their children’s activities, who are aggressive themselves, who punish too severely, and who promote violence (Ruben, 1998). Patrick F. Fagan linked aggressive behavior in children to factors of the home (Fagan, 1996). Thus, studies show that a child from a bad home environment can become an aggressive young person with or without violent media content.

Studies conducted by H. H. Hughes in 1985, by P. G. Jaffe, D. A. Wolfe and S. K. Wilson in 1990, and by L. Silvern and L. Kaersvang in 1989, on the children of violent marriages, show that there is a connection between witnessing violence in the home and then the child actually carrying out acts of aggression later on others (Groves, 1997). In two similar studies, J. M. Kauffman in 1997, and H. M. Walker, G. Colvin, and E. Ramsey in 1995 concluded that witnessing violent behavior often resulted in the child’s later acts of aggression (Miles & Simpson, 1998).

Jo Webber wrote that many factors have led to aggressive behavior in young people, including negative family situations, difficult individual characteristics, and societal factors (Webber, 1997). Some of a child’s aggressive behavior has even been connected to biology and genetic make-up, while another more simplistic response is that aggressive behavior is just a part of growing up (Arllen, Gable, et-al, 1994). The evidence clearly shows that violent media content is not the only cause for aggressive behavior in children and also that many children are exposed to the same violent media content and never exhibit any significant violent behavior.

Being Rejected By One's Peers. Young people who are not accepted by their peers often display highly aggressive and disruptive behavior (Erdley & Asher, 1999). According to a study done by Michael Epstein and Douglas Cullinan, children from broken homes, from low income homes, those who have experienced negative peer influence, and those who have a history of family alcoholism frequently showed patterns of aggression and violence (Epstein & Cullinan, 1994). Similarly, a study on childhood peer rejection and the severity of their aggression concluded that peer rejection is a high predictor of future aggression in children, particularly in African-American boys (Miller-Johnson, Coie, Maumary-Gremaud, Lochman, & Terry, 1999).

No Easy Answers. Many studies have been done and articles written trying to show that television violence and actual violence are linked, but none have been completely successful. Kirsten Hough and Philip Erwin write, "On balance, it seems likely that any relationship that may exist between watching television violence and perpetrating actual violence is likely to be a complex one, and a number of contributing factors must be considered" (Hough & Erwin, 1997, p.5).

Joseph Wehby reached the same conclusion, based on studies done on emotionally or behaviorally disordered children, when he suggested that aggressive behavior in children may result from a combination of factors (Wehby, 1994). He, then, cited social skills deficits, reinforcement of aggressive behavior, deficits in social cognition, and environmental deficits as the major hypotheses for aggressive behavior in children.

In a study conducted by Derek Scott on video games and aggression, he stated that researchers could not offer a clear statement about the role of game playing and aggressiveness. He indicated that too many variables were involved, such as age, gender, age grouping, feelings of aggressiveness, time spent playing, and personality traits (Scott, 1995). In like manner, James M. Kauffman indicated that aggressive behavior in children does not have a single cause or a single solution (Kauffman, 1994).

From 1951 to 1980, the population increased by 47%, and violent crimes increased by 400%. While saying that violent television probably played a part, Betsy Groves wrote, "This rise in violent crime is the result of a complex of social factors; it would be simplistic to attribute this rise solely to television's influence" (Groves, 1997, p. 4). Brian Siano reached the same conclusion when he described data that showed aggressive children liking aggressive television and becoming aggressive adults as a correlation rather than a proof of causal influence (Siano, 1994).

More Research Still Needs To Be Done. In a study on electrodermal responses to implied versus actual violence on television, it was found that some fear-inducing elements produced more responses than others (Kalamas & Gruber, 1998). That being the case, it would seem that merely suggesting that violent-type media creates aggressive behavior is stopping short of what can still be done to understand more about this problem. If there really is a connection between violence-type media and violent behavior, then the connection might be different based on the characteristics and makeup of each individual.

The purpose of this proposed research is to study the hypothesis that bad media content alone does not turn a good, well-behaved child into a bad child. To do that, the question that will be considered is, Can it be shown statistically that good, well-behaved children, from the right environment at home, become bad children when they watch violent media content? Most children who are exposed to acts of violence on television, in the movies, or through the playing of video games do not become violent human beings. At the same time, this study is driven by the belief that most young people, who are exposed to bad media content and then later become aggressive, would have become aggressive with or without the violent media content.

Methodology

The subjects for this study will be comprised of Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Graders from three separate schools that are located in three separate localities. The localities will be Washington, D.C, Springfield, Virginia, and Fredericksburg, Virginia. The school in Washington, D.C will be an inner-city school, where the standard of living among many families might be below average and the incidence of juvenile crime might be above average. The school in Springfield, Virginia will be in an affluent Washington, D. C. suburb, where one might expect a higher standard of living and a smaller amount of juvenile crime. The school in Fredericksburg, Virginia will be in a more rural setting, where one would probably also expect a reasonably good standard of living and a smaller amount of juvenile crime.

Most homes have at least one television, and many have more than one. Studies show that the typical child watches an average of 21 to 28 hours of television every week (Vessey, 1998). In a related study by O. Wiegman, M. Kuttschreuter, and B. Baarda, it was found that children who watch a lot of television see more acts of violence than those who do not watch a lot of television (Hough & Erwin, 1997). Then, in a 1991 study, conducted by W. H. Dietz and V. C. Strasburger, it was found that young people are exposed to 12,000 acts of murder, rape, and other types of violence on television every year (Groves, 1997). Despite these high numbers, though, most children grow up to become responsible, law-abiding citizens.

The instrument that will be administered to the sample in this study is the questionaire shown below in Table 1. Many of the questions in that questionaire are routine. Some are only intended for the purpose of gathering data to be used in additional analyses at a later time. For example, it will not be important in this study to know how many television sets are in the subject’s home, how many hours per day are spent viewing television, or how many times the subject has been in trouble. Similarly, it will not be important to the results of this study to know how the subject might feel about murder or rape. Those questions might have utility for other analyses at another time, but not for this one. The questions

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Table 1. Questionaire For Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Graders

1. How old are you?
2. Indicate whether you are a boy or a girl.
3. What grade are you in?
4. What school do you go to?
5. Where is your school located?
6. Do you have a television set in your home?
7. What are your three favorite television shows?
8. Do you have more than one television in your home?
9. Have you ever gotten into trouble at school?
10. Have you ever been suspended or expelled?
11. Do you watch more than 1 hour of television on an average day?
12. Within the last year, have you seen violent scenes on television, in the movies, or in video games, like someone being murdered or attacked in a bad way?
13. Do you watch more than 2 hours of television on an average day?
14. Have you ever been in trouble with the police department?
15. Have you ever been arrested?
16. Do you watch more than 3 hours of television on an average day?
17. Have you seen a man attack a female on a television show, in the movies, or in a video game within the last year?
18. Are you sad when you hear about a man hurting a woman in real life?
19. Have you ever been sent to the Principal’s Office for being bad?
20. Do you feel sorry when you hear about someone being murdered?

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that are of particular interest to this study are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, and 19 because they focus on the child, on their viewing of violent media content, and on whether or not they have ever been in fairly serious trouble.

To conduct this study, the students will be evaluated for aggressive behavior based on a review of their school records and their police records, if they have one. They will also be asked to fill out the questionaire that was discussed above as the instrument for this study. Aggressive behavior in school will be based on whether or not the student has had any detentions, suspensions, or expulsions as a result of their own violent behavior. Aggressive behavior within a police jurisdiction will be based on whether or not the child has a police record that shows the commission of violent crimes.

A possible limitation on this data and method of collection is that some or maybe even much of a child’s aggressive behavior might not have been detected. For example, if one child pushes another on the playground at school, that offense may not be recorded in either of the children’s school records. Similarly, a child can be involved with drugs but never actually be caught doing anything wrong by the police. Another limitation in this study is that a child might not tell the truth on the questionaire. However, since this study also involves an examination of official records, the negative effects of lying should be greatly reduced.

Analysis of Data

The data will be gathered from each Grammar school, from each police jurisdiction within the three localities, and from each child that fills out a questionaire. The data will be summarized by each of the three localities, by sex, by Grade, by whether or not the child’s home has at least one television, by whether or not the child has witnessed at least one violent act in the last year on television, in the movies, or in video games, and by whether or not the child has demonstrated any documented forms of aggressive behavior in their own life. As the information is gathered, it will be summarized on a form like the one shown below in Table 2.

Six Media Content/Aggressive Behavior Study forms will be completed for each of the three localities in this study, giving a total of eighteen forms altogether. For each locality, there will be a form for the males of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade classes and another form for the females of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade classes.

Upon completion of the data gathering, multiple regression analysis will be performed to identify any relationships that may exist between the dependent variable "aggressive behavior" and the four independent variables of (1) school

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Table 2. Summary of Data By Locality and Gender

Name of school: .

Location of school: .

Specify whether this data is for MALE or FEMALE: .

Specify which Grade this data represents: .

Indicate the number of students reviewed at this school for this gender.

Of the students reviewed, indicate how many had at least one television in their home.

Of the students reviewed, how many have seen at least one violent media action in the last year?

Of the students reviewed, how many had at least one incidence of aggressive behavior?

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location, (2) gender of child, (3) whether the data was gathered from the Fourth, Fifth, or Sixth Graders, and (4) the number of children of that gender and Grade that have viewed violent media content within the past year. Each of these variables will be randomly sampled. In addition, the multiple regression analysis technique assumes independent, random sampling with a normal distribution of the dependent variable.

To deal with the character string nature of school location, Washington, D. C. will be represented numerically by the value "1", Springfield, Virginia will be represented by the value "2", and Fredericksburg, Virginia will be represented by the value "3". To deal with the character string nature of the independent variable "gender", boys will be represented by the numeric value "1", and girls will be represented by the numeric value "2".

Of the four independent variables used in this study, only two are expected to show a statistically significant relationship to the number of children that exhibit aggressive behavior. Those two variables are school location and gender, whereas the other two independent variables, Grade and the number of kids witnessing violent media content with in the last year, are not expected to show a strong significance. The hypothesis of this study will be true if the p-value for number of kids witnessing violent media content is high relative compared to the p-values of the other independent variables.

Significance of the Study

If the hypothesis of this study can be shown true, then the long held belief that violent media content alone causes aggressive behavior in children can be re-examined to gain more understanding into what other factors contribute to the child’s aggressive behavior. No one questions that negative programming has an effect, but this study challenges whether or not bad programming is a principle cause of aggressive behavior in children.

Numerous studies have suggested that violent media content alone causes aggressive behavior in children. If this study can show otherwise, then researchers can look for other factors that might accompany children’s exposure to violence in the media and cause them to be more aggressive. Additional research might show that one child is more affected by one type of violence in the media while another child is more affected by some other kind. Essentially, if this study can support its hypothesis, then researchers should have a whole new way to consider the effects of violence in the media.

Budget and Time Schedule

Copies of journal articles $50.00

Travel to the three school localities 50.00

Researcher 200.00

Making copies of the questionaire 25.00

Making copies of relevant school records 25.00

Making copies of relevant police records 25.00

Arllen, Nancy L., Gable, Robert A., et al. (1994). Toward an Understanding of the Origins of Aggression. (Vol. 38). Preventing School Failure, 18.

Author not available. (2000). Marketing Of Violent Media To Children:Sam Brownback. Congressional Testimony.

Epstein, Michael H., Cullinan, Douglas, et al. (1994). Characteristics of Children With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in Community-based Programs. (Vol. 2). Journal of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders, 51.

Erdley, Cynthia A., Asher, Steven R. (1999) A Social Goals Perspective on Children's Social Competence. (Vol. 7). Journal of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders, 156-167.

Fagan, Patrick F. (1996). Disintegration of the Family Is the Real Root Cause of VIOLENT CRIME. (Vol. 124). USA Today Magazine.

Groves, Betsy McAlister. (1997) Growing Up in a Violent World: The Impact of Family and Community Violence on Young Children and Their Families. (Vol. 17). Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 1-22.

Hough, Kirstin J., Erwin, Philip G. (1997). Children's Attitudes Toward Violence on Television. (Vol. 131). The Journal of Psychology, 411(5).

Kalamas, Alicia D., Gruber, Mandy L. (1998). Electrodermal Responses to Implied Versus Actual Violence on Television. (Vol. 125). The Journal of General Psychology, 31(7).

Kauffman, James M. (1994). Violence and aggression of children and youth: A call for action. (Vol. 38). Preventing School Failure, 8.

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Miller-Johnson, Shari, Coie, John D., Maumary-Gremaud, Anne, Lochman, John, Terry, Robert. (1999). Relationship Between Childhood Peer Rejection and Aggression and Adolescent Delinquency Severity and Type Among African American Youth. (Vol. 7). Journal of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders, 137-146.

Musser, Lynn M., Diamond, Karen E. (1999). The Children's Attitudes Toward the Environment Scale for Preschool Children. (Vol. 30). Journal of Environmental Education.

Myles, Brenda Smith, Simpson, Richard L. (1998). Aggression and Violence By

School-Age Children and Youth: Understanding the Aggression Cycle and

Prevention/Intervention Strategies. (Vol. 33). Intervention in School & Clinic.

Poulin, FranÇois Poulin, Boivin, Michel. (1999). Proactive and Reactive Aggression and Boys' Friendship Quality in Mainstream Classrooms. (Vol. 7). Journal of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders, 168-177.

Ruben, David. (1998). Development/Child Violence: What Makes A Child Violent? A preschooler who hits. A toddler who bites. A class bully who pushes everyone. What causes kids' aggression-- and how to tell whether it's norm. Parenting, 96-103.

Scott, Derek. (1995). The Effect of Video Games on Feelings of Aggression. (Vol. 129). The Journal of Psychology, 121(12).

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Wehby, Joseph H. (1994). Issues in the assessment of aggressive behavior. (Vol. 38). Preventing School Failure, 24.

				Tom of Bethany

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