Ashley Michelle Fraser

Profanity in Media Associated With Attitudes and Behavior Regarding Profanity Use and Aggression

OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that exposure to profanity in media would be directly related to beliefs and behavior regarding profanity and indirectly to aggressive behavior. METHODS: We examined these associations among 223 adolescents attending a large Midwestern middle school. Participants completed a number of questionnaires examining their exposure to media, attitudes and behavior regarding profanity, and aggressive behavior. RESULTS: Results revealed a positive association between exposure to profanity in multiple forms of media and beliefs about profanity, profanity use, and engagement in physical and relational aggression. Specifically, attitudes toward profanity use mediated the relationship between exposure to profanity in media and subsequent behavior involving profanity use and aggression. CONCLUSIONS: The main hypothesis was confirmed, and implications for the rating industry and research field are discussed.

“Media Time = Family Time” Positive Media Use in Families With Adolescents

Media use in families has generally been examined from a narrow viewpoint, focusing on monitoring or co-viewing. The current research provides an expanded view of positive media use in families with adolescents by examining associations between diverse positive media use and family and adolescents outcomes. In addition, we used qualitative methods to provide a more comprehensive view of how families use media in positive ways, specifically drawing distinctions between traditional entertainment media and social media. Participants included 633 adolescents and their parents who completed a range of quantitative and qualitative measures on media use and adolescent and family outcomes. Results revealed that positive media use was positively associated with general family functioning (for girls), parental involvement (for both boys and girls), and adolescent disclosure to parents (for boys). Qualitative results revealed that families use media in diverse ways including for entertainment, emotional connection, discussion, information, and documentation. Results are discussed within the broad framework of family systems theory.