Media ratings for violence and sex. Implications for policymakers and parents.
This article reviews research on the implementation of media-rating systems, parents' use and evaluation of them, and the impact of ratings on children. Although half or more of parents report using media-rating systems, understanding of various components of the systems is low, particularly for television ratings. A meta-analysis of national polls shows that parents overwhelmingly prefer that ratings specify content, rather than giving age recommendations. A second meta-analysis, of experiments testing the effects of ratings on children's interest in programs, shows that ratings indicating restricted or controversial content have a deterrent effect for children under age 8 but that, by age 11 and especially for boys, the ratings show a small enticement effect. This effect occurs for both age-based and content-based ratings. Implications for policymakers and parents are discussed.
Bushman
Brad J
BJ
Department of Psychology, Iowa State University, W112 Lagomarcino Hall, Ames, IA 50011-3180, USA. bushman@iastate.edu
Cantor
Joanne
J
D001290:Attitude; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008402:Mass Media / Q000592:standards*; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D010290:Parents; D011050:Policy Making; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*