ERIC Number: EJ728894
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004-Apr
Pages: 29
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0360-3989
EISSN: N/A
Is Psychopathology the Key to Understanding Why Some Children Become Aggressive When They Are Exposed to Violent Television Programming?
Grimes, Tom; Bergen, Lori; Nichols, Kathie; Vernberg, Eric; Fonagy, Peter
Human Communication Research, v30 n2 p153-181 Apr 2004
Children with diagnosed psychopathologies may experience aggravation of those illnesses with their exposure to media violence. Children with the most common, often undiagnosed, form of psychopathology--Disruptive Behavior Disorders (DBDs)--manifested changes in heart rate, heart vagal heart tone and other psychophysiological reactions to media violence. Children without a diagnosis did not manifest these same psychophysiological responses. These reactions, or the absence of them, made determining the effect of violent media on children a more reliable measure than acted out behavior, which can be more susceptible to experimenter interpretation and, thus, experimenter bias. This paper explains why there is a difference in the psychophysiological responses between the two groups. Future research should more carefully examine the putative psychological harm violent television content may impose on children with psychological ailments.
Descriptors: Programming (Broadcast), Psychopathology, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Violence, Television Viewing, Behavior Disorders, Mass Media Effects, Children, Child Behavior, Aggression
Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP UK. Tel: +44 1865-353907; Fax: +44 1865-353485; e-mail: jnls.cust.serv@oxfordjournals.org; Web site: http://hcr.oxfordjournals.org/.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A