Children's Violent Television Viewing: Are Parents Monitoring?
By: Jon • Essay • 337 Words • December 10, 2009 • 1,158 Views
Essay title: 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%)