Center on Media and Child Health

Can a Doctor Visit Help Prevent Violence?

A stray bullet from a teenager's gun, which hit a 7-year-old Boston-area boy yesterday afternoon, is a painful reminder of the violence that has become a daily concern in communities around the country. The problem is particularly salient when it involves young people, which it often does: Homicide is the second-leading cause of death among young people in the U.S.

Why is violence so widespread? It may be related to whether we view it as a normal part of life. Research suggests that young people are likely to believe that violence is a normal way to resolve conflicts, achieve goals, and acquire status.  They are especially likely to believe violence is normal if they are exposed to violent media, disciplined using corporal punishment, or able to access guns.

Based on this evidence, a group of researchers tested whether media use, corporal punishment, and gun access would decrease when families received violence-prevention counseling during well-child exams. This study by Barkin et al, published in today's Pediatrics, found that families who received the counseling were more likely to reduce their children's media use (and, thus, exposure to violent media) and to lock up their guns (if they had them) than were those who did not receive the counseling. They were not, however, more likely to use timeouts instead of spankings to discipline their children.

Women are Sex Objects and Black Men are Thugs?

Since last week’s release of Grand Theft Auto IV, there has been an upsurge in concern about how violence in video games affects those who play them. But it’s not only their violence that’s raising eyebrows— concern is also mounting over their use of stereotypes. A Boston Globe article addresses the “growing number of gamers and scholars criticizing the lack of diversity and high proportion of stereotypes in video games.”

Some people argue that stereotypes are an acceptable form of comedy and that seeing them represented in media does not affect people’s views of the world. The research, however, suggests otherwise. Several recent studies show that video games’ stereotypical portrayals of gender and race may be harmful for young people.

One study suggests that video games, like other forms of media, “are sources of information that children and young adults may use to determine what behaviors and attitudes are considered appropriately masculine and feminine.” That finding is especially troubling given that video games overwhelmingly portray men as aggressive and violent, while women are shown as hyper-sexualized objects.

Likewise, racial stereotypes abound and black men are unlikely to be represented as anything other than thugs or athletes. A forthcoming study explores the effects of such stereotypes on players of both majority and minority racial backgrounds.

For more information, see the following studies:

• Fair play? Violence, gender and race in video games
• Video game characters and the socialization of gender roles: Young people's perceptions mirror sexist media depictions
• Social evaluations of stereotypic images in video games: Unfair, legitimate, or "just entertainment"?

Eyes on (Cyber)Bullying

As internet use and other electronic forms of communication have become increasingly prevalent among young people, a new form of bullying has been on the rise: cyberbullying. This form of bullying involves “posting hurtful, embarrassing, or threatening text or images using the Internet, cell phones, or other communication devices.” And as difficult as any bullying can be to detect, cyberbullying poses the additional challenges of being anonymous and easy to hide.

That’s where Eyes on Bullying comes in. This new multimedia bullying prevention program, developed in part by CMCH Senior Scientist Ronald G. Slaby, PhD, provides resources to help parents, children, and caregivers address and prevent bullying of all kinds. The website contains information about bullying, as well as activities, resources, and a toolkit that parents and caregivers can download for free.

The program is also hosting three national teleseminars on topics related to bullying. The second, entitled “The Growing Problem of Cyberbullying,” will occur on Tuesday May 6, from 2 to 3 p.m. EST. See the website to sign up or, if you are unable to attend the teleseminars, to download podcasts and transcripts of them after they air.

Boston Regulating Video Games?

Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a measure to limit the sales of violent video games to minors.  Several other states including Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, Michigan and California, have attempted similar measures but have all been denied because of Constitutional conflicts.

Dr. Michael Rich, Director of CMCH, was interviewed for a newscast and a podcast on this topic.

Tempering Real-Life Violence with Media Violence?

A recent NY Times article explored a study which concluded that because violent movies attract violent people and keep them contained in movie theaters, there are 1,000 less violent crimes every week.

On the one hand, this seems like a time displacement argument with a very narrow focus -- akin to saying that there are less people playing football in the park during the time that the Superbowl is on.  (see submitted Letter to the Editor)

On the other hand, one could consider that keeping youth off the streets (whether through entertainment or after-school activities) is a valid way to keep crime down.  Though of course this brings up the question of whether the content of that entertainment matters in the short- or long-term. 

Here's the full text of the study -- what do YOU think?  Respond by clicking on the Comments link below. 

Cyberbullying Issue of JAH

The Journal of Adolescent Health has dedicated a supplemental issue to the topic of cyberbullying and all full-text is publicly available.  In the first article, long-time media violence researcher L. Rowell Huesmann reviewed 41 studies on violence in television and video games and concluded: "Media violence increases the risk significantly that the viewer or game player will behave more violently both in the short and long run."

• See research on media violence from the CMCH Database of Research

Other articles in the issue explore the prevalence and predictors of cyberbullying, the difference between online harassment and cyberbullying, and commentaries on educational policy implications and Internet gang violence.

• See JAH table of contents

 

Feeling Every Bump and Blow

A special vest has hit the market that allows players to feel thumps, punches, stabs, and other blows to the torso that their character experiences in a video game. It is priced at $189 and is being launched with the first-person shooter game "Call of Duty."

The vest was designed by a US surgeon who was looking to enhance the experience of medical consultations over the phone.  He then modified the vest for video gamers to use as well. 

Target's Target: Manhunt2

Target stores have removed Manhunt2 from their video game shelves a week after its release on Halloween.  The premise of this violent game is that the player is a patient trying to escape from a mental hospital who must kill or be killed.  An added concern over the violence in this game came because it was released for Wii, a game system where players must use a motion-sensing wand to act out how they want the character onscreen to behave.   

Originally rated M for Mature audiences, child advocates convinced raters that the game should be rated AO for Adults Only, meaning that no one under 17 could purchase it.  After modifying the game, the creators were able to return to the M rating before the game was released.  Dr. Michael Rich, Director of CMCH, was interviewed about his thoughts on the game and the ratings controversy.

• See Video

3 Media Articles in November Pediatrics

There are 3 media-related articles in the new issue of Pediatrics:

Zimmerman and Christakis:  Associations Between Content Types of Early Media Exposure and Subsequent Attentional Problems

• See news article
• Conclusion:  "Preschool boys exposed to violent television -- even cartoons -- are more likely to become aggressive later in life."

Christakis and Zimmerman:  Violent Television Viewing During Preschool Is Associated With Antisocial Behavior During School Age

• See news article
• Conclusion:  "Every hour per day that kids under 3 watched violent child-oriented entertainment their risk doubled for attention problems five years later." 

Dworak et al: Impact of Singular Excessive Computer Game and Television Exposure on Sleep Patterns and Memory Performance of School-aged Children

• Conclusion:  "The results suggest that television and computer game exposure affect children's sleep and deteriorate verbal cognitive performance, which supports the hypothesis of the negative influence of media consumption on children's sleep, learning, and memory."

Everyone's Playing Halo 3

The long-awaited third installment of the X-Box video game Halo was released this week.  Within the first 24 hours of its release, the game rang up $170 million in sales and more than 1 million people logged on to play. 

The game features a variety of weapons used to fight aliens and other humans along with vivid imagery of the effects of this violence. Though the game is rated M for mature audiences, it is very popular among teenagers, in part because it is so heavily marketed by a variety of kid-related tie-ins.  For example, Burger King and 7-11 have in-store promotions for the game and Mountain Dew has created Halo-themed packaging and cans, calling them "Game Fuel".

CommonSenseMedia rated the game "Pause" which indicates that parents should decide individually whether their child is developmentally mature enough to play the game.