High school students' knowledge and beliefs about television advisory warnings

Abstract

Advisory warnings were adopted by network television stations in the fall of 1993 to inform viewers of violent or sexual programming. To assess the impact of the advisories, independent samples of high school students were surveyed in the fall of 1993 (n = 1,854) and in the fall of 1994 (n = 1,489). Most students reported having seen a warning before programs with violent or sexual content. Furthermore, students were more aware of the advisories and had more accurate recall of the violence advisory over time. Although students’ knowledge of the advisories improved over time, their advisory‐related beliefs and the amount of violence they watched on television remained unchanged.

Key words:

• television
• advisory warnings
• violence
• sex
• risk communication