Could nursery rhymes cause violent behaviour? A comparison with television viewing

Abstract

Aims: To assess the rates of violence in nursery rhymes compared to pre-watershed television viewing. Methods: Data regarding television viewing habits, and the amount of violence on British television, were obtained from Ofcom. A compilation of nursery rhymes was examined for episodes of violence by three of the researchers. Each nursery rhyme was analysed by number and type of episode. They were then recited to the fourth researcher whose reactions were scrutinised. Results: There were 1045 violent scenes on pre-watershed television over two weeks, of which 61% showed the act and the result; 51% of programmes contained violence. The 25 nursery rhymes had 20 episodes of violence, with 41% of rhymes being violent in some way; 30% mentioned the act and the result, with 50% only the act. Episodes of law breaking and animal abuse were also identified. Television has 4.8 violent scenes per hour and nursery rhymes have 52.2 violent scenes per hour. Analysis of the reactions of the fourth researcher were inconclusive. Conclusions: Although we do not advocate exposure for anyone to violent scenes or stimuli, childhood violence is not a new phenomenon. Whether visual violence and imagined violence have the same effect is likely to depend on the age of the child and the effectiveness of the storyteller. Re-interpretation of the ancient problem of childhood and youth violence through modern eyes is difficult, and laying the blame solely on television viewing is simplistic and may divert attention from vastly more complex societal problems.A pproximately 10% of violent crime in England and Wales is perpetrated by school age children.1 Although the rates of convictions in children have fallen, this is felt to be due to a change in policy by the courts to try to keep children out of custodial sentences. Self-reported crime rates in 14-17 year olds rose 14% between 1992-93 and 1998-99. 5 Whether this increase is due to increased reporting or an increase in incidents is unknown.Some high profile cases have been blamed on visual stimuli, from the Jamie Bulger murder to the case of the teenager who was convinced to attempt to murder his friend on the orders of a ''secret agent''. In both these cases, watching violent films was implicated in giving the children the knowledge and confidence to act.As early as 1972, the US surgeon general wrote: ''televised violence does have an adverse effect on certain members of our society''.6 A recent major study 7 showed a significant correlation between aggressive behaviour and the amount of time spent watching television in adolescence. Potential confounding factors including childhood neglect, previous aggressive behaviour, and neighbourhood violence were controlled for. A meta-analysis of all available studies in this field showed a correlation between exposure to media violence and aggression. Violence on television has also been increasing in nature and in scope. It is estimated that a child who watches two hours of cartoons per day will experience 10 000 episodes of violence per year. ...

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