Children, Adolescents, and Media Violence

'Children, Adolescents, and Media Violence is a state of the art assessment of this complex issue. Providing both historical and theoretical context, Dr Kirsh expertly guides the reader through the maze of myth and scientific evidence on media violence effects on children and youth. Eminently readable, this book is an essential resource for anyone who wants to understand the scientific methodology, results, and policy implications of media violence research' - Jeanne B Funk, University of Toledo

Children, Adolescents, and Media Violence provides a comprehensive review and critique of the literature related to media violence in all its forms during childhood and adolescence. Special attention is paid to evaluating the role of the development processes in media violence research and to stressing the importance of methodology in understanding that research. The developmental analysis taken by the author allows for the identification of age-related `holes' in the literature and helps the reader to become a critical consumers of the research. The book also provides the most comprehensive overview available of the effects of media violence on children and adolescents.

Key features include:

- a developmental perspective, utilizing three themes throughout the text: critical assessment of research; the importance of development in evaluating research; and identifying the next step in the research process;

- multiple forms of media violence to broaden the scope of discussion;

- discusses and critiques the five major theories utilized to explain the impact of media violence on children and adolescents;

- chapter-opening introductions to draw in readers and to set the stage for the content to come;

- extended discussion beyond explicit media violence to address the potential benefits and harm associated with nonviolent media consumption.