David S. Bickham|Michael Rich
Is Television Viewing Associated With Social Isolation?
Harvard University|Harvard University
estimate associations childrens peer integration amount time spend 1 watching television 2 watching violent television 3 coviewing television friendssurvey using nationally representative data panel study income dynamicschild development supplement wave 1nationwide survey families young children performed 1997of 3562 children 1356 sufficient data inclusion analyses 563 children aged 6 8 years 793 children aged 9 12 yearstotal time viewing television without friends present time viewing violent nonviolent television contentamount time children spent friends reported two 24hour activity diariesviewing violent programs nonviolent programs negatively related time children spent friends aged 68 years unstandardized regression coefficient beta 034 95 confidence interval ci 059 008 aged 912 years beta 041 95 ci 065 018 time viewing television friends associated time engaging activities friends aged 68 years beta 098 95 ci 061 136 aged 912 years beta 103 95 ci 072 134the time children spent viewing violent programs less time spent friends study cannot determine direction effects relationship cyclical process violent media peer integration best explains findings optimize social development mental health childrens access violent media limited