Television heightens aggression in toddlers: Study
According to professor Jennifer A. Manganello of the University at Albany, television increased aggressive behaviour in toddlers. She found that on average, kids aged four years and lesser spent about 3.2 hours a day with television and that for each additional hour of TV watched, aggressive behaviours like hitting, fighting, disobeying and anger increased in them. The health communication professor’s study rated the aggressive behaviour of toddlers on a scale of 0 to 30 range and found the average score to be 9.8.
The study saw an increase of 0.16 in the score for an additional hour of television watched. Manganello said that their study did not blame television for causing aggression in kids; it rather pointed out that TV increased the ‘child’s aggressive behavior’. ‘Children who watch more TV are more likely to have a higher score on the aggression scale’ she added. Co-authored by professor Catherine A. Taylor, the study took into consideration the information self-reported by 3,128 mothers whose children were born between 1998 and 2000 from across 20 cities.
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