The causes of youth violence are "multi-factorial" and influences may include income level, exposure to violence in the community, psychiatric problems and other reasons, according to Eugene Beresin, M.D., director of child and adolescent psychiatry residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital. However Beresin notes research is compelling that media violence also affects the behavior of children.
Prevalence
Televisions are in 99 percent of American homes today, and more than half of kids have a set in the bedroom, notes Beresin. This gives children ample opportunity to watch programs relatively unsupervised.
Conflict Resolution
One of the alarming things about media violence, according to Dr. Beresin, is that it demonstrates a false kind of conflict resolution. All of the serious consequences of a violent act may not be included within a program. So-called heroes may be idolized for their ability to fight or use weapons.
Hours
Nielsen Media Research notes in a 2000 report that average American children are watching in excess of 19 hours of TV per week, and in many cases, this is more than they spend interacting with family members, going to school, getting exercise or playing with friends.
Other Media
Violence is not just on TV. Remember that kids are also exposed to violence in many films, and weapons, explosions and other types of fighting are prevalent in many video games.
Recommendations
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, because TV violence can lead to a more aggressive child, it is important to limit a child's exposure to violence. The AAP recommends one or two hours per day. Educational programs might be an exception, but non-educational programs are riddled with violence. A further complication is that this kind of violence directed at children is often painless, without consequences and meant to be funny.
Impact
Dozens of studies have looked at the correlation between violence in media and the behavior of children. The consensus appears to be that violence has some negative influence on children's behavior in the short and long term. A research summary published by the American Psychological Society in 2003 entitled "The Impact of Media Violence on Youth" found that there is an "unequivocal" link between violence and the violent behavior of youth. The researchers found that exposure of violence in the media can cause aggressive verbal and physical behavior. Correlative data exists to link this aggression to short-term or immediate behavior as well as to aggressive acts later in life.
