Parents' Knowledge and Beliefs about the Impact of Exposure to Media Violence on Children's Aggression

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe current study aimed to assess Jordanian parents' knowledge and beliefs about the effects of violent media on children's aggressive behavior. A sample of 262 parents of children aged 6–11 years completed a Media Quotient questionnaire about children's media habits, media effects, and children's aggressive behavior. Parents reported that their children spend an average of 4.83 h (SD = 2.12) watching TV, 3.20 h (SD = 2.29) playing video games, 1.07 h (SD = 0.88) listening to music, and only 0.52 min (SD = 0.67) reading for pleasure per day. Parents have a moderate level of knowledge about the media effect (M = 15.49, SD = 3.439). Children of parents who have adequate knowledge about the media effect, spend less time watching TV (r = −.355, p < .001), playing video games (r = −.265, p < .001), and listening to music (r = −.347, p < .001). Ninety-two percent (n = 241) of parents were concerned about the amount of sexual and of violent content their children see in movies or on TV. Children who spend more time playing video games (r = −.201, p = .004) show aggressive relational behavior. This study suggests that increasing parents' knowledge of media of evidence-based programs may have a protective effect on children's behavior.