The results of a new study led by Linda Pagani, a professor at the School of Psychoeducation at the University of Montreal, long-term associated risks of early exposure to violent content in childhood and later antisocial behavior in teenagers, more than a decade later.
“Although past evidence showing causal links between modeling and rewarding violence had an immediate effect on aggressive behavior in four-year-old children, few studies have investigated long-term risks with antisocial behavior. We studied such risks in middle adolescence, explained Pagani, who is also a researcher at the Center de recherche Azrieli du CHU Sainte-Justine It was ideal to study this issue with typically developing middle-class children because they, as a population, have the least chance to engage in aggression and behavior harmful to others.”
Close to 2000 children
In all, Pagani and her team looked at 963 girls and 982 boys born between the spring of 1997 and 1998 who were enrolled in the Longitudinal Study of Child Development in Quebec. Parents reported the frequency of their child’s exposure to violent television content at the ages of 3.5 and 4.5 years. Boys and girls then self-reported several aspects of antisocial behavior at age 15.
The study defines screen violence as anything “characterized by physical aggression, verbal aggression and relational aggression […] portray situations that intentionally attempt or cause harm to others.” Children, the study says, “are attracted to fast-paced, stimulating violent content, often featuring attractive characters such as superheroes who commit and are rewarded for aggressive acts, thereby increasing the likelihood of exposure.”
The researchers then conducted analyzes to examine whether exposure to violent television content at ages 3.5 and 4.5 predicted later antisocial behavior eleven years later.
The researcher added: “We statistically took into account alternative child and family factors that could explain our results, in order to be as close as possible to the truth in the relationships we observed.”
Boys stand out
At age 15, for boys only, preschool violent television viewing predicted increases in antisocial behavior. Exposure to violent content in early childhood predicts later aggressive behaviors such as hitting or beating another person, with the intention of getting something, stealing, with or without an apparent reason.
Risks also included threats, insults and involvement in gang conflicts. Weapon use is also among the behavioral outcomes predicted by childhood exposure to television violence in this study. No effects were found in girls, which was not surprising given that boys are generally more exposed to such content.
Pagani concluded: “Our study provides compelling evidence that exposure to media violence in early childhood can have serious, long-lasting consequences, particularly for boys. This highlights the urgent need for public health initiatives that target campaigns to inform parents and communities about the long-term risks and empower them. to make informed decisions about young children’s exposure to screen content.”
A team of students from the University of Montreal and researchers from the United States and Italy found that “parents and communities can play a key role in limiting future problems by carefully avoiding young children’s exposure to violent media content.”
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