Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Research Update ReviewImpact of Media on Children and Adolescents: A 10-Year Review of the Research
Section snippets
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
Dietz and Strasburger's review (1991) summarized the research of the previous 20 years, which demonstrated the multiple effects of television on child and adolescent cognition and behavior. Looking at topics ranging from cognitive development, to obesity, to aggressive behavior and violence, drug use, suicide, sexual activity, and the promotion of stereotyping, this article highlighted earlier findings and provided the basis for much of the recent research. From this point, particularly in the
TELEVISION AND MOVIES
Two major meta-analytic reviews were published in the 1990s. Wood et al. (1991) examined 28 research reports on children and adolescents exposed to media violence and subsequently observed in unconstrained social interactions. The authors concluded that exposure to media violence increases aggressive interactions with strangers, classmates, and friends. In a larger review of 217 studies conducted between 1957 and 1990, Paik and Comstock (1994) looked at the effects of television violence on
ROCK MUSIC AND MUSIC VIDEOS
During the 1970s and 1980s, rock music lyrics became more explicit in their references to sex and drugs (Fedler et al., 1982). The AAP's revised policy statement in 1996 stated that although there were no studies documenting a cause-and-effect relationship between sexually explicit or violent lyrics and adverse behavioral effects, there is ample evidence given the content to be concerned about desensitization to violence, promotion of sex-role stereotyping, and acceptance of risk-taking
ADVERTISING
While advertising has not been as extensively studied as television programming, the studies of the past decade document in a compelling fashion the influence of advertising media on the attitudes of young children and adolescents in ways that ultimately shape later behaviors. During the past decade research has focused on the areas of tobacco and alcohol advertising, since in 1993 alone the tobacco industry spent $6 billion on advertising (Report to Congress for 1993 Pursuant to the Federal
VIDEO AND COMPUTER GAMES
The annual industry growth of video and computer games in the United States has been meteoric, from $100 million in 1985 to $7 billion in 1994 (Provenzo, 1991). Funk (1993) surveyed 357 seventh-and eighth-grade students regarding the frequency and location of video game use. The average time spent playing was 4.2 hours per week. Boys played more frequently in video arcades (50% compared with only 20% of girls playing in arcades). The content of almost half of the games was violent, and 40 of
COMPUTERS AND THE INTERNET
The use of computers and the Internet has not been studied using research techniques to date, yet 89% of teenagers report using a computer, 61% report “surfing the net,” and 14% report seeing something that they do not want their parents to know about (Princeton Survey Research, 1997). Commentaries and news stories abound in response to linkages made between recent killers and computer use. McGee and DeBernardo (1999), in their article describing “school avengers,” a profile of the recent
DISCUSSION
The predominant theme of the research literature of the 1990s was the careful delineation of content in all forms of the typical American child's media diet. This, combined with survey information about how much time children and adolescents continue to spend with various forms of media, leads naturally to growing concern about what children are learning. There is no doubt that media has a tremendous capacity to teach, different from standard teaching techniques. Whether through television or
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This series of 10-year updates in child and adolescent psychiatry began in July 1996. Topics are selected in consultation with the AACAP Committee on Recertification, both for the importance of new research and its clinical or developmental significance. The authors have been asked to place an asterisk before the 5 or 6 most seminal references.
M.K.D.