This article is from the WebMD News Archive
Violent TV May Lead to Antisocial Kids
Nov. 5, 2007 -- Watching too much violence on TV at a young age may lead to antisocial behavior later on.
A new study shows preschool boys who watched TV violence were more likely to develop antisocial behavior by ages 7 to 9 than those who watched nonviolent or educational television. But the same effect wasn't seen in girls.
Researchers say the results are significant because antisocial and aggressive behavior among young children is associated with violent behavior in older children.
In addition, they found that much of what was considered "children's television" programming actually contained a significant amount of violence.
Effect of TV Violence
In the study, published in Pediatrics, researchers analyzed information on 184 boys and 146 girls who whose parents were surveyed in 1997 when the children were between ages 2 and 5, and again five years later. The parents were surveyed about their child's television viewing habits and behavior at both times.
Researchers classified the television programs the children watched into three categories: educational, nonviolent entertainment, and violent entertainment.
The results showed preschool boys who watched violent television programs were four times more likely to display antisocial and aggressive behavior as children. No such association was found among girls or with other types of programming. Examples of popular educational television programs among preschoolers were Barney, Sesame Street, and Arthur. Nonviolent entertainment programs included Rugrats, basketball, and animated movies.
Researchers found many TV shows geared toward young children contained high levels of violence and were associated with antisocial behavior among boys; these shows included Power Rangers, football, Star Wars, Space Jam, and Spider-Man.
"Our findings confirm and extend findings of others that exposure to violence on screen can promote aggression in real life," write researcher Dmitri Christakis, MD, MPH, of the Child Health Institute at the University of Washington, Seattle, and colleagues.
They say that while parents should limit TV viewing by young children as much as possible, the results suggest that substituting educational or nonviolent TV programming may help reduce the negative effects of TV violence on children.
del.icio.us
Important Safety Information
Vimpat (lacosamide) is a medicine that is used with other medicines to treat partial onset seizures in patients 17 years of age and older with epilepsy. Vimpat is generally well-tolerated, but may not be for everyone. Ask your doctor if Vimpat is right for you. Antiepileptic drugs, including Vimpat, may cause suicidal thoughts or actions in a very small number of people, about 1 in 500. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have new or worsening symptoms of depression, any unusual changes in mood or behavior, or suicidal thoughts, behavior, or thoughts about self harm that you have never had before or may be worse than before. Please see additional patient information in the Medication Guide at the end of the full prescribing information. This information does not take the place of talking with your healthcare provider about your condition or your treatment. Please see additional Patient Safety Information
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
-
5
-
6
-
7
-
8
-
9
-
10
-
11
-
12
Sleep expert helps new moms get more rest.
