Media violence: A multivariate analysis of aggression and at-risk behavior in 18 to 21 year olds.

摘要

Research on the subject of media violence has been conducted for more than five decades. The impetus that surrounds media violence research is the ongoing theory that aggressive behaviors and acts viewed in the media will ultimately encourage the same tendencies in viewers and users of media. The purpose of this canonical correlation study was to determine if there is a relationship between viewing media violence on television and using violent video games and aggression and at-risk behavior in 18 to 21 year olds. The results of the current study concluded that mediated violence on television (basketball, wrestling, football, soap operas, and comedy/sitcoms) and in video games (Medal of Honor, Resident Evil, and other games) were associated with aggression and at-risk behaviors in 18 to 21 year olds. The research conducted here does not identify the underlying cause, nor does it identify the effects of violent acts such as these. However, this research does identify that there is a problem associated with media and ignoring the underlying causes will not make these problems go away.