Psychology Ph.D. Dissertations

Adolescent Media Exposure to Real-Life Violence: Impact and Parental Responses

Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Psychology/Clinical

First Advisor

Eric Dubow (Committee Chair)

Second Advisor

Lori Lovins (Other)

Third Advisor

Meagan Docherty (Committee Member)

Fourth Advisor

Joshua Grubbs (Committee Member)

Abstract

With the advent of increasingly accessible technology and the proliferation of real-life violence in the media, adolescents are being indirectly exposed to violence at unprecedented rates. Research shows that this increase in frequency of exposure to violence through media platforms creates an illusory sense of heightened danger and societal threat and, at times, results in emotional and behavioral problems commensurate with other forms of exposure to real-life violence (Comer, Furr, Beidas, Babyar, & Kendall, 2008). Given the influence of parents on their children’s perception of the world as well as their children’s emotional and behavioral outcomes, it is important to understand what constitutes best practice for parents in the event that an adolescent child is exposed to real-life violence (Eisenberg, Cumberland, & Spinard, 1998). The parental socialization of emotion model states that parental responses to their children are a key determinant of that child’s adjustment in the face of distressing situations (Eisenberg, Fabes, & Murphy, 1996; Di Giunta et al., 2020). Drawing on the parental socialization model, the current study used single time-point survey data to investigate the impact of adolescent exposure to real-life violence in the media, as well as the role that parents play in socializing their adolescent children to cope with such distressing experiences. The findings support previous research demonstrating that there is a significant and consistent relation between adolescent’s exposure to (i.e., assessed by their cognitive absorption with) media reports of real-life violence and their emotional, cognitive, and coping behaviors. The findings also support the idea that supportive parenting practices play an important role in adolescent adjustment, but highlight that parental monitoring may be ineffective to this end within the context of indirect exposure to violence during this developmental stage. Further research is needed to confirm the degree to which, and the methods by which, parents and caregivers are most effectively able to help adolescents process the real-life violence they see in the media. The current study provides a meaningful basis for these future studies.

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