A new study that tracked nearly 2,000 children for more than a decade shows that watching violent television content in early childhood can have serious long-term consequences for boys. The study, published Jan. 20 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, shows that exposure to violent television at ages 3 and 4 predicts aggressive behavior in adolescence.
long term effects
The comprehensive study, led by Linda Pagani of the University of Montreal’s School of Psychoeducation, followed 963 girls and 982 boys born in 1997 and 1998. Displayed increased antisocial behavior by age 15, including aggression, theft, and involvement in gang fights.
“While past evidence suggests a causal link between imitation and being rewarded for violence, which has a direct impact on aggressive behavior in children as young as 4 years old, few studies have examined the long-term risks of antisocial behavior,” Pagani explained. .
The study defined screen violence broadly to include physical, verbal and relational attacks that intentionally cause harm to others. Researchers note that children particularly enjoy fast-paced, exciting content with engaging characters, such as superheroes who are rewarded for aggressive behavior.
gender differences
While the study followed boys and girls into their teens, the effects were clearly different by gender. By age 15, only boys showed significant behavioral effects of early exposure to violent television. These behaviors include beating others to obtain things, stealing, threatening, and participating in gang fights. Studies have even found a link to weapons use in some cases.
The lack of similar effects in girls is not surprising, the researchers said, because boys are generally more exposed to violent content.
“Studying this issue with typically developing, middle-class children is ideal because, as a group, they are the least likely to engage in aggressive behavior and behavior that is harmful to others,” Pagani noted. This focus has helped researchers put television violence into context. specific effects from other potential risk factors.
The team took careful steps to ensure their findings were not affected by other factors. “We statistically accounted for other child and family factors that could explain our results to get as close as possible to the truth about the relationships we studied,” Pagani explained.
Impact on public health
“Our study provides compelling evidence that early childhood exposure to media violence can have severe, long-lasting consequences, particularly for boys,” Pagani concluded. “This highlights the urgent need for public health initiatives, “Awareness campaigns are designed to educate parents and communities about the long-term risks and empower them to make informed choices about young children’s exposure to screen content.”
The research team, which included scientists from the United States and Italy, stressed that parents and communities play a vital role in preventing future problems by carefully monitoring young children’s exposure to violent media content.
The research was conducted under the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development and was supported by several Quebec institutions, including the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation and the Saint-Justin Foundation.
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