Children's Violent Television Viewing: Are Parents Monitoring?

Children’s Violent Television Viewing: Are Parents Monitoring?

Tina L. Cheng, MD, MPH*‡§; Ruth A. Brenner, MD, MPH
; Joseph L. Wright, MD, MPHद;

Hari Cheryl Sachs, MD#; Patricia Moyer, BS
; and Malla R. Rao, MEngg, DrPH

ABSTRACT. Objective. Violent media exposure has

been associated with aggressive behavior, and it has been

suggested that child health professionals counsel families

on limiting exposure. Effective violence prevention

counseling requires an understanding of norms regarding

parental attitudes, practices, and influencing factors.

Both theories of reasoned action and planned behavior

emphasize that subjective norms and attitudes affect

people’s perceptions and intended behavior. Few data

exist on violent television viewing and monitoring from

a cross-section of families. By understanding the spectrum

of parental attitudes, community-sensitive interventions

for violence prevention can be developed. The

objective of this study was to assess attitudes about and

monitoring of violent television viewing from the perspective

of parents.

Methods. An anonymous self-report assisted survey

was administered to a convenience sample of parents/

guardians who visited child health providers at 3 sites: an

urban children’s hospital clinic, an urban managed care

clinic, and a suburban private practice. The parent questionnaire

included questions on child-rearing attitudes

and practices and sociodemographic information.

Results. A total of 1004 adults who accompanied children

for health visits were recruited for the study; 922

surveys were completed (participation rate: 92%). A total

of 830 (90%)