INVESTIGATION OF A STRATEGY TO REDUCE THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF TELEVISION VIOLENCE ON YOUNG CHILDREN
The proposed research will examine for the effects of a strategy (Media Literacy Discussion Group) designed to reduce the effects of tv violence on a sample of first grade boys. As to why such a study is needed, it can be noted that, if nothing else, the recent school shootings in Littleton, Colorado highlight the
fact that school violence has reached epidemic proportions in ~,
American Schools. According to the Center for the Prevention of School Violence (1998), research conducted from 1989 through
1998, revealed that during the period of the data collection:
1. Fifty seven percent of public school principals reported one or more incidents of crime/violence occurring in their schools.
2. Ten percent of public schools experienced one or more serious violent crimes (murder, robbery, rape, other types of sexual battery, suicide, and physical attack or fights using weapons).
3. During the period of data collection, there were over 190,000 incidents of physical attacks or fights without a weapon.
4. Forty five percent of elementary schools reported one or more violent incidents compared with seventy four percent of middle and seventy seven percent of high schools.
5. Approximately 6,093 students were expelled for bringing firearms or explosives to school; 56 percent of these were high school students, 34 percent were junior high school students, and
9 percent were elementary school students.
Statistics such as those just delineated clearly indicate the urgent need for both determining those factors that cause and/or contribute to the likelihood of violence on public school campuses, and for reducing aggression in students as early as possible. The benefits to be gained by conducting research that investigates strategies for reducing aggression early on are related to the fact that they allow schools to take...