The Influence of Too Much Violence on Children

The film Mind of a Rampage Killer, which first aired in the aftermath of the Newtown massacre, highlights questions at the forefront of all of our minds: what compels a human-being to commit the most inhuman of crimes? As a society, we see the gruesome images of violence every day, but do we understand how children can grow up to become ruthless killers? Furthermore, how can we prevent another event, such as the Newtown massacre, from occurring again? In this documentary, produced and directed by Miles O’Brien, NOVA investigates the roots of violence, including neurological, environmental and psychological factors.

According to the United States department of Justice, Over sixty percent of American children are exposed to a type of violence every year (Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., Ormrod, R., Hamby, S., and Kracke, K. 2009). These forms of violence can be perpetrated by a victims home, community or school, with majority of children knowing the perpetrator(s). These experiences with violence whether primary or secondary, can cause serious psychological trauma to a child and in worst case scenarios death. The 2009 survey by the Department of Justice also found that children exposed to any form of violence were more likely to engage in violence in the future and almost forty percent of these children were exposed to multiple acts of violence ( pg.2). The

Children watch an average of 2 to 4 hours of television a day (these numbers may have increased since this study), the occurrence of violence on television has increase by 75% since 1998, children view more than 1,000 murders, rapes, and assaults each year on television, by the time children reach elementary school children will have already seen 100,000 acts of violence committed on television (United States Congress and Senate 2012). Exposure to these acts of violence makes it very easy to slowly accept that this is the way the world operates. Children becoming desensitized to violence has a negative effect on their evaluative/ judgment system and they begin to lack empathy. When children become desensitized to the violence in television they begin to lose a sense of remorse for poor behavior and not take societal crime as serious as it should be

306). Brad Bushman, in his journal titled Moderating Role of Trait Aggressiveness in the Effects of Violent Media on Aggression, shares the shocking statistic that by the time a child makes the switch from elementary school to middle school, they will have witnessed over 8,000 murders and, even more shockingly, over 100,000 other violent acts (950). This statistic alone should make parents deeply concerned. By elementary school age alone, children are exposed to about 110,000 acts of violence of varying degrees. As children continue to view these harmful images, they begin to learn that a stimulus, such as a knife, means violence and harm (Levesque 41).

The current study assessed adults who were exposed to family violence as a child and examined their acceptance of provoked aggression and retaliatory violence in adulthood. Researchers hypothesis that the more family violence a child is exposed to, the more accepting they will be of aggressive provocation and retaliatory violence. Data was collected through an anonymous survey online which included the Experiences with Violence and Attitudes about Aggression Scale (Jacquin, Harrison, & Runyan, 2002). Regression analysis with backward removal was used to test the association between beliefs about aggressive provocation and childhood exposure to family violence. As hypothesized, the results show that the more exposure to family violence the

Violence affects many children in many different ways Elie experienced many things including being violently forced into a ghetto, being forced into a cattle car with no food or water, being ripped away from his mother & sisters, & watching many friends & family be killed in front of him. Children today are affected by violence in multiple ways, including in video games and in their own homes. Children in this generation, being highly dependent on technology, are playing more violent games on their phones, tablets, and also on the television. Nearly 3 million physical assaults occur in the United States, most cases happen at night and when that individual is at home. Violence affected many young children in the book Night during the Holocaust,

Behavior on Initiation of Gun Carrying: A Longitudinal Test of Three Models of Youth Gun Carrying, Richard Spano, Alex Pridemore, and John belland studies the link of youths of different ages in different areas of poverty. They concluded that youth that have witnessed violence and saw dead bodies are more likely to be influenced by violence. Youths who witness violence are influence to join gangs and performs violence. while the other youths learn to equip themselves with tools for protection for themselves and their families. Youth who lives in poverty does not always see a died body, saw violence, or carry weapons. Drugs, violence, and gun thrive in poverty atmosphere.

In an informational article by the contributors of the U.S. Department of Human Health & Human Services, “About School Violence” explains school violence, and gives background on the topic. When most people hear school violence, people will think about guns and school shooters. However in the article, school violence includes fighting, bullying, electronic aggression, gang violence, and weapon use. Also, school violence doesn’t have to be in school, it could be at a school event or it could be at a trip going to a school event. This article was written for people above the age of 10 because these acts of violence start or has the capability to start impacting their lives.

Since the year 2000, youth violence has been one of the biggest concerns in almost every community. In my research I decided to evaluate the study of youth violence. Youth violence is said to start since the early days of childhood and lead onto the teenage years of a child. When talking about youth violence, the child may not only be an offender but they can be a victim of violence as well. Bullying, punching, slapping, kicking, teasing, and verbal abuse are all behaviors and forms of mistreatment that can harm someone both physically and emotionally. These acts can occur at home, school, afterschool programs, and even among friends. Some parents tend to overlook the importance of youth violence among their kids. In some cases the parents aren’t even aware that their child might be either an offender or a victim of youth violence. Some parents at home try to talk to their children to make sure their kids aren’t victim of youth violence and in the process they talk to them about the dangerous being violent towards others. In my research, I discovered that some of the causes to why kids are so violent is because of either the lack of parental attention, not given parental discipline, they are victims of abuse at home, or even taught to be violent by the games and movies they are exposed to by the media. Which is why now a days the community tries to work together to create a safe environment for their children. They try to involve the children into programs that teaches them

This video explains how cultivation theory finds that the levels of violence that are displayed routinely on television and movies has desensitized the population to the effects of violence in the real world. The video show scenes of reckless, senseless violence being committed in broad daylight with bystanders seemingly aloof to the plight of the victim even after the perpetrator has left the scene. I feel that the increased amount of violence and aggressive brutality that is displayed through mass media can have some effect on a minority of the population. A strong healthy mind is capable of separating the violence that is portrayed in the media and real violence being committed on the streets of their city. This depiction of violence can

We are still unable to fully understand the impact that the exposure to violence has on children. Secondly, when these children get caught in the middle of inter-parental violence, they tend to express anger towards others and society in general. They also tend to have lower scores in social competence than

Additionally, the media influences that youth witness everyday - television, movies, video games - can all desensitize young minds. “The typical American child will view more than 200,000 acts of violence, including more than 16,000 murders before age 18. Television programs display 812 violent acts per hour; children 's programming, particularly cartoons, displays up to 20 violent acts hourly.” (Beresin, 2015). Witnessing this kind of violence everyday can make it seem like it is a normal, everyday thing. “Certain elements of television, music videos, video games, movies, pornography, sports, and the military glorify violence and contribute to a desensitization among viewers.” (Kelly & Totten, 2002, pg. 15). It makes it seem like it would be okay to commit an act of violence. The media portrays these types of scenes and

The nonfiction book Protecting Children from Violence: Evidence- Based Interventions, by Jim Lampinen and Kathy Sexton- Radek, contains staggering past and current research findings on the issue of atrocities against children. Jim Lampinen holds a PhD in cognitive psychology. Kathy Sexton- Radek is a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of Illinois. This writer chose the title as part of a psychology class writing assignment. After reading the contents of the book, this student could not help but ask the question… When is “enough” enough?

For many years, there has been an ongoing argument that claims that the violence watched in television programs has an effect on the type and amount of aggression children display. Researchers believe there is a correlation between childhood aggression and the degree of violence they view on television. Additionally, the way parents explain the violence children view has a direct influence on how children interpret and display aggression. The research discussed in this paper will explore the effects violent television programs play in the development of aggression in adolescents. The research is based on social learning theory. Anderson and Bushman (2012) define social learning theory as behavior that is learned through experience or by viewing others’ actions. This supports the research which proves that children are learning and displaying the violent actions they see when watching television programs and learning the violent behavior that they witness. Various peer reviewed academic journals study the effects of viewing violent television and the aggression it causes children. These journals review the results found in their studies and the statistics that explain the correlation that exists between violent television and aggression. It will also review journals that explain how children mimic the behavior they see. In addition, news articles are presented that show children’s aggressive actions and how they relate to a children viewing various forms of violent

In the book Critique of Violence ,author Walter describes Violence as "The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, male development, or deprivation .The violence that is portrayed in the media has been debated for decades ,and it has rose a question about how does it influence the youth?. From movies to video games society has been accustom to seeing violence in their everyday entertainment. Since children are easy to be influence by their environment, it is safe to say that violence in the media can and will contribute to violent behavior.