NCJ Number
223333
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior: An International Journal Volume: 35 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2008 Pages: 772-791
Date Published
June 2008
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This article presents a meta-analysis of studies on the relationship between exposure to media violence and violent aggression.
Abstract
Results show that the evidence does not support claims that the current level of interpersonal violence was boosted by childhood exposure to a steady diet of dramatic medial violence, or that one of the best documented causes of the modern upsurge in violence appears to be childhood exposure to television violence, or that there is unequivocal evidence that media violence increases the likelihood of aggressive and violent behavior in both immediate and long-term contexts; the relationship between exposure to violent media and serious violence has yet to be established. A review of both aggregate studies and experimental evidence does not provide support for the supposition that exposure to media violence causes criminally violent behavior. The study of most consequence for violent crime policy actually found that exposure to media violence was significantly negatively related to violent crime rates at the aggregate level. Evidence was not adequate to claim that exposure to media violent TV could be a significant source of violence in U.S. society. Data were collected from all empirical studies relevant to the research question published in English in scholarly journals; the research question was “does the published literature establish a link between media violence exposure and criminal aggression?” Tables, figure, notes, and references