Viewing Movie Violence & Interest in Guns

Adolescent Behavior Clinical Trial

Official title:

Exposure to Gun Violence in Movies Increases Interest in Real Guns

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03220412
• Other study ID #: 2013B0542-3
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: July 15, 2015
• Est. completion date: January 1, 2016

Study information

• Verified date: May 2019
• Source: Ohio State University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

More American children die by accidental gun use than children in other developed countries. One factor that can influence children's interest in guns is exposure to media containing guns. The objective of this study is to test whether children who see a movie containing guns will handle a real gun longer and will pull the trigger more times than children who see the same movie without guns.

Description:

A recent analysis of top selling films found that the depiction of guns in violent scenes in PG-13 films that target youth has increased from the level of G and PG files in 1985 when the rating was introduced, to the level of R films by 2005, to exceed the level of R films since 2012. By definition, a PG-13 movie is supposed to have less violence than an R-rated movie. The Motion Picture Association of America says on its website that the violence in a PG-13 movie "does not reach the restricted R category." Our study shows that it does. By including guns in violent scenes, film producers may be inadvertently increasing aggression in youth via a weapons effect. This experiment directly tests this hypothesis.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 104
• Est. completion date: January 1, 2016
• Est. primary completion date: January 1, 2016
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 8 Years to 12 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

Age 8-12yrs, had not participated in study prior, was able to schedule participation with a known peer (8-12yo).

Exclusion Criteria:

Younger than 8yo, older than 12yo, had participated in study prior, could not schedule participation with a known peer (8-12yo)

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Adolescent Behavior
• Psychology, Social

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Movies with Guns
Participants in this arm viewed movies (National Treasure, The Rocketeer) without guns. The movies, rated PG, were edited to remove guns from the scenes

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
n/a

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Ohio State University

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Trigger Pulls	The adjusted median of the number of trigger pulls per child. These data refer to the reduced Generalized Estimating Equation model for the two conditions. This model included participant gender and condition, bu not any of the other control variables.	20 minutes after intervention
Primary	Seconds Holding Gun	Number of seconds participant held gun	20 minutes after intervention