RELATIONSHIP OF PARENTAL MEDIA MEDIATION, EXPOSURE TO VIOLENT MEDIA AND AGGRESSION AMONG ADOLESCENTS

Abstract

The current research aimed at studying the relationship of parental media mediation, exposure to violent media and aggression among adolescents. While researches have studied the effectiveness of parental media mediation strategies in reducing the effects of exposure to violent media, they have not accounted for the styles of parental media mediation from specific cultural perspective. The present research was conducted on a sample of 174 adolescents from Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Bus and Perry’s (1992) Aggression Questionnaire was used to assess aggression, and Perceived Parental Media Mediation Scale by Valkenburg and Piotrowski (2013) for assessing media mediation. For exposure to violent media, direct questions were asked. It was hypothesized that exposure to violent media and aggression would be positively correlated, and Active Media Mediation (carried out in Autonomy Supportive and Controlling Style) will moderate the relationship between exposure to violent media and aggression. Results showed a significant correlation between exposure to violent media and aggression; however, Active Mediation did not act as a moderator. Results were discussed on the basis of the specifics of Media Mediation styles and familial context, contradictory behaviour on behalf of the parents themselves, a mix up of Active and Restrictive Mediation simultaneously by each parent, and interference or modeling of a different behavior by other family members in a joint family set up.