Majorities of media researchers, parents and pediatricians agree that exposure to violent media can increase aggression in children, according to a new national study.
The study found that 66 percent of researchers, 67 percent of parents and 90 percent of pediatricians agree or strongly agree that violent video games can increase aggressive behavior among children.
Majorities of these groups also believed that children's aggressive behavior can be fueled by viewing violent video games, movies, TV programs, and Internet sites. However, fewer than half agreed that violent comic books or literature would have such harmful effects on children.
"Some people claim there is no consensus about whether violent media can increase aggression in children, but this study shows that there is consensus," said Brad Bushman, lead author of the study and professor of communication and psychology at The Ohio State University.
"As in most areas of research, there is not complete agreement. But we found the overwhelming majority of media researchers, parents and pediatricians agree that violent media is harmful to children."
[For more of this story go to http://medicalxpress.com/news/...ent-media-child.html]
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