Children's Violent Television Viewing: Are Parents Monitoring?
Children 's Violent Television Viewing: Are Parents Monitoring?
Tina L. Cheng, MD, MPH*§; Ruth A. Brenner, MD, MPH; Joseph L. Wright, MD, MPH§¶;
Hari Cheryl Sachs, MD#; Patricia Moyer, BS; and Malla R. Rao, MEngg, DrPH
ABSTRACT. Objective. Violent media exposure has been associated with aggressive behavior, and it has been suggested that child health professionals counsel families on limiting exposure. Effective violence prevention counseling requires an understanding of norms regarding parental attitudes, practices, and influencing factors.
Both theories of reasoned action and planned behavior emphasize that subjective norms and attitudes affect people 's perceptions and intended behavior. Few data exist on violent television viewing and monitoring from a cross-section of families. By understanding the spectrum of parental attitudes, community-sensitive interventions for violence prevention can be developed. The objective of this study was to assess attitudes about and monitoring of violent television viewing from the perspective of parents.
Methods. An anonymous self-report assisted survey was administered to a convenience sample of parents/ guardians who visited child health providers at 3 sites: an urban children 's hospital clinic, an urban managed care clinic, and a suburban private practice. The parent questionnaire included questions on child-rearing attitudes and practices and sociodemographic information.
Results. A total of 1004 adults who accompanied children for health visits were recruited for the study; 922 surveys were completed (participation rate: 92%). A total of 830 (90%) respondents were parents and had complete child data. Of the 830 respondents, 677 had questions on television viewing included in the survey and were the focus of this analysis. Seventy-five percent of families reported that their youngest child watched television. Of these, 53% reported always limiting violent television
viewing,
Tina L. Cheng, MD, MPH*§; Ruth A. Brenner, MD, MPH; Joseph L. Wright, MD, MPH§¶;
Hari Cheryl Sachs, MD#; Patricia Moyer, BS; and Malla R. Rao, MEngg, DrPH
ABSTRACT. Objective. Violent media exposure has been associated with aggressive behavior, and it has been suggested that child health professionals counsel families on limiting exposure. Effective violence prevention counseling requires an understanding of norms regarding parental attitudes, practices, and influencing factors.
Both theories of reasoned action and planned behavior emphasize that subjective norms and attitudes affect people 's perceptions and intended behavior. Few data exist on violent television viewing and monitoring from a cross-section of families. By understanding the spectrum of parental attitudes, community-sensitive interventions for violence prevention can be developed. The objective of this study was to assess attitudes about and monitoring of violent television viewing from the perspective of parents.
Methods. An anonymous self-report assisted survey was administered to a convenience sample of parents/ guardians who visited child health providers at 3 sites: an urban children 's hospital clinic, an urban managed care clinic, and a suburban private practice. The parent questionnaire included questions on child-rearing attitudes and practices and sociodemographic information.
Results. A total of 1004 adults who accompanied children for health visits were recruited for the study; 922 surveys were completed (participation rate: 92%). A total of 830 (90%) respondents were parents and had complete child data. Of the 830 respondents, 677 had questions on television viewing included in the survey and were the focus of this analysis. Seventy-five percent of families reported that their youngest child watched television. Of these, 53% reported always limiting violent television
viewing,
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