Public health opportunities and responsibilities in the media violence field

Ybarra, Michele. (2010, July). Public health opportunities and responsibilities in the media violence field. Presented at the 19th International Society for Research and Aggression World Conference, Storrs, CT.

Summary:

This presentation discusses findings from the Growing up with Media national longitudinal study. Specific topics addressed include:

1) Media as an exposure to violence

2) Media as a vehicle for violence

3) Public health opportunities and responsibilities

4) Target populations

Findings include:

-    Between 0-10% of adolescents say almost all / all of the media they consume depicts physical violence, shooting, etc.

-    Victimization:  15% of youth are bullied online (34% harassed)  &  12% of youth are bullied via text messaging

-    Perpetration:  6% of youth bully others online  &  6% of youth bully others via text messaging

-    Public health opportunities include prevention of exposure of media violence such as:  1) Deliver violence prevention programs to those using violent media(harm reduction: instead of aiming to reduce / eliminate exposure to violent media, aim to reduce the impact of violence in media);   2)  Comprehensive bullying programs at schools that address bullying and harassment across environments

-    Public health responsibilities include discussion of:  1) The ‘odds’ of seriously violent behavior given exposure to all/ almost all media that is violent;   2) The clinical vs statistical significance

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