Reassessing the risks: an updated content analysis of violence on U.S. children’s primetime television

ABSTRACT This study provides a comprehensive update investigating the amount and nature of violence contained in primetime television programming that targets children aged 17 and younger. Using the same sampling procedures and codebook as the original National Television Violence Study, we coded 765 primetime television programs airing on 21 broadcast and cable networks during the 2016/2017 season. We then separated children’s programs from nonchildren’s programs to compare violence by amount and context. Results indicate that programs targeted to youth continue to be more violent than programs made for adults, but the percentage of such programs was slightly lower than what was reported twenty years ago. Once again, violence in children’s programs is just as likely to be glamorized as shows for adults but continues to be more sanitized and trivialized. Implications for children’s learning of aggression are discussed. IMPACT SUMMARY Prior State of Knowledge: The landmark National Television Violence Studies (NTVS) found that violence is more prevalent in programs targeted to children. NTVS also found that violence in children’s programs was more likely to be sanitized and trivialized, increasing the risk of children’s learning of aggression. Novel Contributions: The study provides an important update to the media violence literature, and demonstrates that violence in children’s primetime television has not changed in any meaningful way in the last twenty years. Practical Implications: The patterns observed here heighten the risk of viewers learning of aggression and becoming desensitized to such portrayals. Future research should consider the intentions of those in the industry to better understand why violence remains a staple of children’s programming.