Viewing Movie Violence & Interest in Guns

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.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Psychology, Social Adolescent Behavior Behavior

Age range

8 year–12 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

About this study

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.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

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)

Treatment and study plan

Movies with Guns

Behavioral

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

Primary outcomes

Trigger Pulls

Time frame: 20 minutes after intervention

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.
Seconds Holding Gun

Time frame: 20 minutes after intervention

Number of seconds participant held gun

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Ohio State University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Exposure to Gun Violence in Movies Increases Interest in Real Guns

Important dates

Study start: 2015
Primary completion: 2016
Study completion: 2016
First posted: Jul 18, 2017
Registry last updated: Jun 3, 2019

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed