Children and adolescents spend considerable time online. The current study investigated moderators of short-term longitudinal associations from social media use to changes in body satisfaction and physical activity. Participants (144 girls, 152 boys) were third-sixth grade students (ages 8-13) attending public schools in Florida (USA).…

Media technologies make it simple for students to access accurate information wherever and whenever they want at a lower cost, however, many studies show that children do not see a difference between the real world and the fictional media world until they reach the age of 12. This study aims to determine primary school students' professional…

The prevalence of obese children has tripled during the past three decades. While lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating have been the primary focus of public health efforts, media has a significant influence on food choices and food consumption. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine if a media literacy intervention would…

Mass media have numerous effects on children, ranging from influencing school performance to increased or reduced aggression. What we do not know, however, is how media availability in the bedroom moderates these effects. Although several researchers have suggested that bedroom media may influence outcomes by displacing other activities (the…

Research indicates that relationally aggressive media exposure is positively associated with relational aggression in children. Theories of media effects suggest that these associations may be mediated by aggressive cognitions. Although parental mediation can attenuate the effects of violent media, it is unknown whether there are similar benefits…

This issue of the Occasional Papers Series aims to draw attention to the use of storytelling as a medium for provoking dialogue about inclusive classrooms and school communities. It offers readers stories of classroom life that provide insights into understanding the complexities that make up the lives of children with disabilities, their…

Educational TV has been consistently linked to children's learning. In this research, educational TV characteristics were identified, coded, and tested for their influence on children's program-specific comprehension and vocabulary outcomes. Study 1 details a content analysis of TV features including a program's macrostructure (i.e., narrative or…

In an attempt to minimize the adverse effects of television violence, the authors implemented a classroom-based intervention with 496 children in 32 classrooms (grades 1 to 4). The intervention consisted of 28 brief lessons conducted by university staff over the course of 7 months. Participants were individually interviewed prior to the…

American children spend an average of 6 hours and 32 minutes each day using various forms of media. Research has suggested that this high level of exposure has a negative impact on children's attitudes and behaviors. For example, media violence increases aggression in children, especially video games which allows children to be the aggressor and…

This study examined the relative contributions of exposure to violence, parental monitoring, and television viewing habits to children's self-reported symptoms of psychological trauma. Children in grades 3-8 in 11 public schools completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire administered during usual school hours. The final sample was comprised…