Violence in the Media: A Study of Adolescent Behaviors Towards Others in the School Setting

Violence in the schools appears to be increasing. The purpose of this exploratory study is to determine if the numbers of hours middle schools students watch violence on television could be a factor in how students handle potentially violent situations with other students in the school setting. Students in a middle school setting, grades 6, 7 and 8, were surveyed. The results showed that an increase number of violent reactions to different conflict situations that happen in a school setting, correlated with students watching more hours of violent television on school days and non-school days. Based on the findings of this study, social work intervention modalities in the school setting, with families, and in society, are discussed