Media Violence Can Lead to Aggression

On July 26, 2000 the American Medical Association, American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry released a joint statement declaring that entertainment violence can lead to increases in aggressive attitudes, values and behavior in some children.

Director of CMCH Michael Rich represented the American Academy of Pediatrics at the entertainment violence summit in Washington DC. He commented “Children learn the ways of the world by observing and imitating — they cannot help but be influenced by media. The most insidious and potent effect of media violence is to desensitize viewers to ‘real life’ violence and to the hard caused its victims.”