Television viewing habits, and other characteristics of normally aggressive and non-aggressive children

Abstract

Normally aggressive children were found to have quite different TV viewing habits to non-aggressive children. They preferred violent programs and characters, stayed up later, and typically their homes received a wider range of commercial TV stations. When asked to write about their favourite character, they saw him as being more physically violent, whereas non-aggressive children saw him as more empathic. Aggressive children also had more unskilled fathers, more fathers absent from home, and achieved in class at a lower standard. The results show that aggressive children have a different life style from non-aggressive children; it is suggested that the technique of examining viewing habits of preselected groups of children be further utilized in assessing the influence of TV viewing on aggressiveness.