Gun violence in movies increases kids’ interest in guns – study

Cartoon guns may seem harmless but they could influence how a child feels about guns in real life, according to research.

A new study suggests that gun violence in entertainment makes children more interested in guns. In an experiment by researchers from Ohio State University, 104 children aged between eight and 12 were paired up and shown one of two short edits of PG-rated films; The Rocketeer and National Treasure. One version of each film had the gun fire in, while the other version of each had the gun violence edited out. [caption id="attachment_279196" align="alignnone" width="601"] A scene from Rocketeer.[/caption]   The kids were then brought to a room filled with toys and games to play for 20 minutes while being video recorded. The room also contained a real disabled gun in a cabinet with a sensor on it. More than a quarter of (27 per cent) of the children stopped playing to tell the researchers about the gun. The researchers observed that the kids who had been exposed to gun violence were more keen than the others to play with the gun. They held the guns over four times longer than the other kids and were also more likely to pull the trigger of the gun than those who hadn't seen the unedited films.

"Every day in the United States, nearly 40 children are shot. More than 1.7 million children live in a home with unsecured guns," wrote the researchers in the report's conclusion.

The researchers argued that this experiment showed how inaccurate the ratings by film advisory groups can be.

"We believe that these data are a compelling start to the conversation on the various factors that can increase children’s interest in guns and violence."

You can read the study in full at in the Jama Paediatrics journal here.