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Children more likely to handle firearms after viewing movie gunplay
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Children who viewed age-appropriate movies depicting gun violence were more likely to play with a real firearm for a longer period of time — and played more aggressively — than children who viewed the movie with scenes of gun violence removed, according to a recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics.
“Gun violence in movies is increasing, especially in movies that target younger viewers,” Kelly P. Dillon, PhD, and Brad J. Bushman, PhD, from the School of Communication at The Ohio State University, wrote. “An analysis of top-selling films found that the depiction of guns in violent scenes in films rated PG-13 has more than doubled since 1985 when the rating was introduced, increasing from the rating levels of G and PG films to the rating level of R films by 2005.”
To examine the connection between depictions of gun handling in media and the use of guns by children, the researchers recruited 104 children between the ages of 8 and 12. Each child viewed a 20-minute PG film in a university laboratory. The film viewed either featured guns or excluded them. Following the film, children were instructed to play with toys and games for 20 minutes and were recorded on video.
In the play area, a real disabled gun that had a sensor that counted trigger pulls was contained in a cabinet. The researchers also assessed the amount of time children held the gun and instigated aggressive play.
Of the children included (59.6% boys, 40.4% girls; SD age, 9.9 [1.5] years), children who watched the movie containing guns pulled the trigger of the gun 2.8 times on average (IQR, 0.2-2.8). Those who viewed film excluding gun use pulled the trigger only 0.01 times (IQR, 0.01-0.2; adjusted OR, 22.3, 95% CI, 6.0-83.4; P <.001). Children who watched film with gun use held the gun for 53.1 seconds on average (IQR, 35.5-53.1), compared with 11.1 seconds for children who watched movies excluding gun use (IQR, 10.7-16.7).
Further analysis of video recordings of four pairs of children from each group determined that children who watched movies with gun use spent more time playing aggressively and would occasionally fire the gun at others in the room, a passerby on the street or themselves.
“The results from this experiment suggest that exposure to gun violence in movies increases interest in guns in the real world,” Dillon and Bushman wrote. “Of note, the movies that we showed children were age appropriate — rated PG — and not very graphic in terms of gun violence. The effects might be greater with newer films containing more graphic gun violence.” – by Katherine Bortz
Disclosure: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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