NCJ Number
102410
Date Published
1983
Length
133 pages
Annotation
This study compares the behaviors of abused and nonabused children in their response to the viewing of violence on television.
Abstract
One hypothesis held that abused children, after viewing an aggressive cartoon, would be willing to 'hurt' a fictitious child for a significantly longer time than nonabused children. It was also hypothesized that the total group of abused children would be willing to 'hurt' a fictitious child for a significantly longer time than the total group of nonabused children. The third hypothesis was that abused children, after having viewed the cartoon, would comprehend story content, motivations for, and consequences of the main characters' TV aggression better than nonabused children. Sixty-four preschool children, ages 3 to 6 years, were study subjects. Thirty-two of the children were classified as abused and 32 as nonabused. Subjects first viewed either an aggressive TV cartoon with a high violence content or a neutral cartoon with no violence. They then played a game in which they could either 'help' or 'hurt' a fictitious child. Subjects were then interviewed using a TV habits survey to determine their television viewing practices. Detailed statistical analysis failed to support hypotheses one and three but did support the second hypothesis. The total group of abused children was more willing to 'hurt' a fictitious child for a longer period than the group of nonabused children. 41 tables and approximately 135 references.