Emotionally Disturbed Children's Reactions to Violent Media Segments

Abstract

This study examined the reaction of children with a diagnosed disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) to violent movie scenes. Children without one of these disorders were tested as well. DBD children ranged in age from 8 to 12 years and were outpatients at The University of Kansas Medical Center's Department of Child Psychiatry. These children were diagnosed by a child psychiatrist as meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition) (American Psychiatric Association 1994) (DSM-IV) diagnostic criteria for having at least one of three emotional disorders: attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and conduct disorder (CD). Results showed that the disordered children differed from the nondisordered children on several dimensions. This suggests that DBD children process the anti-social messages in violent movies differently from children without a psychiatric disorder. An unabated diet of antisocial media could have harmful effects on children with a psychiatric illness.