A study led by Linda Pagani, Professor at the Université de Montreal’s School of Psychoeducation, reveals long-term associated risks of early exposure to violent content in childhood and teen antisocial behaviour, more than a decade later.

Past research has shown that watching violence had an immediate impact on aggressive behaviour in 4-year-old children but there are few studies investigating long-term risks.  This new study wanted to see whether watching characters receiving rewards for violent actions as 4-year-olds would still be influencing the behaviour of the children in mid-adolescence.

Close to 2,000 children

The subjects for the study were typically developing middle-class children.  As a population, they appear to have the lowest changes of engaging in aggression and behaviour harmful to others.

In all, the researchers looked at 963 girls and 982 boys born between the springs of 1997 and 1998 who were enrolled in the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development. Parents reported the frequency of their child’s exposure to violent television content at ages 3.5 and 4.5 years old. Boys and girls then self-reported on several aspects of antisocial behaviour at age 15.

The study defines screen violence as anything “characterized by physical aggression, verbal aggression, and relational aggression […] depicting situations that intentionally attempt or cause harm to others.”

Children, the study says, “are attracted to fast-paced, stimulating, violent content, which often features appealing characters like superheroes who commit and are rewarded for aggressive acts, thus increasing the likelihood of exposure.”

The researchers then conducted analyses to examine whether exposure to violent television content at ages 3.5 and 4.5 years predicted later antisocial behaviour eleven years later.

Boys stand out

At age 15, for boys only, preschool violent televiewing predicted increases in antisocial behaviour. Being exposed to violent content in early childhood predicted later aggressive behaviours such as hitting or beating another person, with the intention of obtaining something, stealing, with or without any apparent reason.

Risks also included threats, insults, and gang fight involvement. The use of weapons is also among the behavioural outcomes predicted by exposure to childhood television violence in this study. No effects were found for girls, which was not surprising given that boys are generally more exposed to such content.

This study provides compelling evidence that early childhood exposure to media violence can have serious, long-lasting consequences, particularly for boys. This underscores the urgent need for parents and communities to be informed about the long-term risks and empower them to make informed choices about young children’s screen content exposure. It is parents and communities that can play a crucial role in limiting future problems by making sure children avoid exposure to violent media content.

Supplied by the University of Montreal

Image supplied by Freepik

More information: Linda S. Pagani et al, Prospective Associations Between Preschool Exposure to Violent Televiewing and Externalizing Behavior in Middle Adolescent Boys and Girls, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2025). DOI: 10.3390/ijerph22010129

Journal information: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health