U.S. Television Programming's Effect on Aggressive Behavior of Children and Adolescents

• NCJ Number: 117290
• Journal: Current Psychology Research and Reviews Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1988) Pages: 76-92
• Author(s): H Stipp; J R Milavsky
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 17 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Best Practice/State-of-the-Art Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article critically surveys the debate over the harmful effects of televised violence on viewers and then focuses on the impact on one group: average children and adolescents in the United States.

Abstract

Five important issues in research on television violence are identified: definitions and counts, viewers' perceptions, potential for media effects, explanations for effects, and relationships between television and aggression. An assessment of research on television effects under natural conditions focuses on the 1982 longitudinal panel study conducted by Milavsky, Kessler, Stipp, and Rubens. This project found no evidence that television viewing was a factor in aggressive behavior. The paper criticizes the National Institutes of Mental Health report which stated the opposite view. The author cautions that no existing studies reflect changes in home entertainment available now as a result of cable television and VCRs and their possible effects on viewers. Approximately 60 references. (Author abstract modified)