A study of New Zealand children's exposure to violence shows that the most common experience is watching people fighting and killing on television and other screens. And lead researcher, Dr Janis Carroll-Lind, draws the obvious conclusion: the quickest way to reduce violence in children's lives is to turn off the television.
Ninety per cent of the 2077 schoolchildren aged 9 to 13 in the study said they had seen violence in movies and shows:
"I have seen someone get killed by a gun on TV", "Watching people on TV who are dying in hospital [from violence]", "Seeing people on TV drinking and being stupid and crashing". Movies specifically depicting family violence were frequently mentioned: "Well I watched 'Once Were Warriors' when Jake Heke had beaten Beth up and gave her a black eye and bruised her face." The children's developmental age was sometimes reflected in their descriptions of the movies: "When the Germans killed Jews in the war on TV. When you say candyman four times, he comes and kills you with a hook."
Around two-thirds of the children said they had directly experienced physical violence; two thirds also said they had witnessed physical violence directed at other children; and 27 per cent reported witnessing violence against adults -- mostly as a result of family breakdown, to judge by the examples the children gave:
"My Mum and her boyfriend always get in arguments and I've seen heaps of things get smashed", and "I watched my Aunty and my Dad fighting with knives inside at night". The majority of witnessed violence occurred in the children's homes, but some children did describe witnessing family violence elsewhere. For example, "My Dad hurt Mum in town and made her mouth bleed". The following quote reflects how children describe such events from a child's perspective:
"In the Christmas holidays my family went away with our friends, but Dad wasn't allowed to come because Mum had a something order out on him. But on the third day we were there Dad came because he needed to talk to Mum, and Dad and my Dad's friends got in a big fight with me, all my sisters and the rest of the camp watching."
Significantly, "Simply seeing physical violence against others, in the media and in real life, affected children more than suffering themselves - partly because four-fifths of the violence they suffered was inflicted by other children," the New Zealand Herald reports.
"Witnessing physical violence against adults and in the media had more impact on children than witnessing physical violence against other children," the study found.
Says Dr Carroll-Lind,
"Where you have a child exposed to violence themselves, and maybe had an abusive childhood, watching violence on television is yet another trigger. That is the one thing that we could change quickly. Parents can make a choice as to what their children are watching or what video games they are playing."
The study found that "emotional violence" was even more prevalent, and 11 per cent of children had suffered sexual violence -- comparable with 12 per cent in a US survey.
The children later answered another questionnaire on their experience as perpetrators of violence.
"My Mum and her boyfriend always get in arguments and I've seen heaps of things get smashed", and "I watched my Aunty and my Dad fighting with knives inside at night". The majority of witnessed violence occurred in the children's homes, but some children did describe witnessing family violence elsewhere. For example, "My Dad hurt Mum in town and made her mouth bleed". The following quote reflects how children describe such events from a child's perspective:
"In the Christmas holidays my family went away with our friends, but Dad wasn't allowed to come because Mum had a something order out on him. But on the third day we were there Dad came because he needed to talk to Mum, and Dad and my Dad's friends got in a big fight with me, all my sisters and the rest of the camp watching."
Significantly, "Simply seeing physical violence against others, in the media and in real life, affected children more than suffering themselves - partly because four-fifths of the violence they suffered was inflicted by other children," the New Zealand Herald reports.
"Witnessing physical violence against adults and in the media had more impact on children than witnessing physical violence against other children," the study found.
Says Dr Carroll-Lind,
"Where you have a child exposed to violence themselves, and maybe had an abusive childhood, watching violence on television is yet another trigger. That is the one thing that we could change quickly. Parents can make a choice as to what their children are watching or what video games they are playing."
The study found that "emotional violence" was even more prevalent, and 11 per cent of children had suffered sexual violence -- comparable with 12 per cent in a US survey.
The children later answered another questionnaire on their experience as perpetrators of violence.