Media Violence: Effects on Children and Parental Role
This paper reviews and critiques peer-reviewed research on the effects of media violence on children and adolescents. Drawing on studies published in journals such as Psychological Science in the Public Interest and Aggressive Behavior, it examines how exposure to violent video games, television, and film increases aggressive behavior, decreases pro-social behavior, and can have lasting developmental consequences. The paper also surveys the historical context of media regulation, including the Motion Picture Production Code and the Payne Fund studies. The central argument is that while empirical evidence clearly establishes harms associated with media violence, the primary responsibility for guiding children's media consumption rests with parents rather than schools or law enforcement.
- Introduction: Media Violence and Its Impact: Thesis framing parental responsibility for media guidance
- The Influence of Media Violence on Youth: Anderson et al. research on aggression and violent media
- Media Violence and School-Age Aggression: Gentile et al. longitudinal study on school-age children
- Historical Context: The Motion Picture Production Code: MPPC history and Payne Fund film impact studies
- Key Events, Challenges, and Author Positions: Summary of key events, challenges, and critical evaluations
- Conclusion: Parental Responsibility and Societal Implications: Parental guidance as essential response to media violence
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What makes this paper effective
- It anchors its central thesis — parental responsibility — clearly in the introduction and returns to it consistently throughout, giving the paper coherent argumentative focus.
- It draws on multiple peer-reviewed sources across different research contexts (experimental, longitudinal, historical), demonstrating breadth of engagement with the literature.
- It moves beyond summary by explicitly agreeing or disagreeing with specific author claims, showing critical evaluation rather than passive reporting.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates source synthesis combined with critical evaluation: rather than simply summarizing each article in sequence, it connects findings across studies (e.g., linking Anderson's physiological arousal findings to Gentile's longitudinal aggression data) and takes explicit positions on specific claims. The identification of statements the author agrees and disagrees with is a useful model for developing analytical voice in academic writing.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a thesis-driven introduction, then moves through two empirical research sections reviewing Anderson et al. and Gentile et al. A historical section covers the Motion Picture Production Code and Payne Fund. A synthesis section lists key events, challenges, and evaluative positions on author claims. The conclusion ties the thesis back to real-world consequences, including a reference to high-profile school violence. This clear movement from evidence to analysis to conclusion is well-organized for an undergraduate-level literature review essay.
Introduction: Media Violence and Its Impact
What impact does media violence have on society? How are children and adolescents affected by violence portrayed in movies, television, video games, and other forms of media? This paper reviews and critiques peer-reviewed articles that address the subject of media violence from several perspectives, and takes positions on the arguments and research presented in those scholarly articles.
There is ample empirical research available to support the assertion that violent video games, movies, and television programs have a negative impact on young people. It is the thesis of this paper that ultimately the responsibility for guiding children's exposure to violent media rests not with schools or law enforcement, but on the shoulders of parents.
The Influence of Media Violence on Youth
An article in Psychological Science in the Public Interest flatly asserts that there is "unequivocal evidence that media violence increases the likelihood of aggressive and violent behavior," and that aggressive behavior will manifest itself in both "long-term" and "immediate contexts" (Anderson, 81). Whether it is violent video games, film, or television violence, when youths are exposed in a short-term context there can be verbally "aggressive thoughts, aggressive behavior, and aggressive emotions" (Anderson, 81).
The authors explain that — based on "large-scale longitudinal studies" — there are long-term manifestations to "frequent exposure to violent media in childhood." Those manifestations include "aggression later in life" that can consist of spousal abuse and physical assaults against others (Anderson, 81). Media violence research indicates that exposure increases "physiological arousal," as Anderson explains. The authors also point out that while "many children and youth spend an inordinate amount of time" witnessing violent media, the research they conducted reflects the fact that "parental-mediation interventions" can in fact result in beneficial outcomes (Anderson, 81).
Anderson points to the Bjorkqvist (1985) study that exposed five- and six-year-old Finnish children to violent media, while others in the class were not subjected to the violence. Two raters who did not know which children had seen the violent video watched the group playing, and those who had watched the violent media were observed "hitting other children" and "wrestling," along with other kinds of aggression.
Another study referenced by Anderson involved 396 boys between 7 and 9 years of age; some watched a nonviolent film while others watched a violent film. During the ensuing game of floor hockey, witnesses who did not know which boys had seen the violent film clearly identified those who had watched it. Those boys were pulling each other's hair, tripping, kneeing, elbowing, and engaging in "other assaultive behaviors" that went well beyond legal hockey rules (Anderson, 85). In Anderson's conclusion, the "troubling truth" is that "violent media are entering the home and inviting active participation of even young children — often with little parental supervision." This finding reinforces the thesis of this paper, which calls for far more attentive and consistent parental stewardship.
Works Cited
Anderson, Craig A., Berkowitz, Leonard, Donnerstein, Edward, Husemann, Rowell L., Johnson, James D., Linz, Daniel, Malamuth, Neil M., and Wartella, Ellen. (2003). The Influence of Media Violence on Youth. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 4(3), 81–106.
Gentile, Douglas W., Mathieson, Lindsay C., and Crick, Nicki R. (2010). Media Violence Associations with the Form and Function of Aggression among Elementary School Children. Social Development, 20(2), 213–232.
Gentile, Douglas A., Coyne, Sarah, and Walsh, David A. (2011). Media Violence, Physical Aggression, and Relational Aggression in School Age Children: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study. Aggressive Behavior, 37(2), 193–206.
Timmer, Joel. (2011). Restricting Portrayals of Film Violence to Reduce the Likelihood of Negative Effects in Viewers: Did the Framers of the Motion Picture Production Code Get it Right? Journal of Popular Film and Television, 39(1), 29–36.
Weaver, Andrew J. (2011). A Meta-Analytical Review of Selective Exposure to and the Enjoyment of Media Violence. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 55(2).
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