VIOLENCE IN MEDIA CONTENT

Abstract

Media violence theory and analysis offers evidence that violent young people seek out media violence and that adolescent conflict is prospectively expected by media violence. The authors argue that all interactions should be mutually reinforcing as modelled over time, in what they term a downward spiral paradigm. This research uses multilevel modeling to analyze human growth curves of aggressiveness and violent media use. Students from 20 middle schools in 10 local locations in the United States watched action films, played violent computer and video games, and accessed crime-oriented internet sites to evaluate the use of media violence. The results are generally compatible with the model suggested. In particular, the simultaneous effects of aggressiveness on violent media usage and the simultaneous and lagging effects of violent media use on aggressiveness have been established. The consequences of this model are explored for the theorization of media impact on adolescents and for bridging engaged viewers with insights on media effects.