Media Violence and Children: A Complete Guide for Parents and Professionals (Advances in Applied Developmental Psychology) - Hardcover

"Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above."-Choice ?Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.?-Choice "Firmly, undramatically, this solid book step-by-step reaches the powerful conclusion that we are harming our society. This is one of those rare books which has the potential to change our culture."-Paul Simon Director, Public Policy Institute "The most current and comprehensive overview of this complex and concerning issue for children and their parents. If we, as a society, can learn from these leaders in the field and act on what we learn, we can better protect the health and safety of our children, and secure the future of our society as it negotiates the Information Age."-Michael Rich, MD, MPH Director, Center on Media and Child Health Children's Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical School

The foremost experts in the field of media violence research present a broad range of approaches and findings to confirm what has long been suspected: media violence has profoundly negative effects on children. The contributors share concise and readable summaries of the most recent research--along with research conducted over the past 40 years--regarding the effects of violence in various media, including: television, film, video games, music, and the Internet. Scientifically documented negative effects on children include the aggressor effect, the victim effect, the bystander effect, and the appetite effect. Future steps to reduce the danger of media violence are also presented. This cross-disciplinary approach to media violence offers readers the most complete, up-to-date, and holistic understanding of the topic. Gentile and his contributors also examine and debunk long-held misconceptions about media violence, explaining the specific nature and unquestionable power of the negative effects.