Age trends in the development of aggression and associated television habits.

Abstract

A 3-year longitudinal study was conducted with two large samples of elementary school youngsters overlapping in one grade. It was thus possible to trace developmental trends from Grades 1 through 5 on the following variables: aggression; realism of television programs; and preference for masculine, feminine, or neutral activities. These data support the theory that there is a sensitive period during which the effect of television can be especially influential on children's behavior. Further, since the correlation between violence viewing and aggression tends to increase until age 10-11 years, a cumulative effect beyond the sensitive period is suggested.