Y. study finds teens' profanity tied to media

PROVO — Teens who encounter profanity in the TV shows they watch and the video games they play are more likely to swear themselves. And that's a known risk factor for aggression, both physical and in relationships, according to a BYU study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

The study found a "direct link," wrote the researchers, who had 223 sixth-, seventh- and eight-grade students from a Midwest middle school fill out a survey about the shows they love, how much time they spend watching TV, the video games they play, aggression and how they feel about profanity, as well as whether it peppers their own speech.

"What we basically found is that the media you consume in regards to profanity influences how you feel about profanity," said Laura Stockdale, a Ph.D. candidate who was one of the researchers. "If you think it's okay, you're more likely to use it. And that use is associated with being more aggressive with your peers, with your friends, with people who are not your friends — just all-around more aggressive."

The take-home message, she said, is to pay attention to what children take in. And though the study didn't look at the impact on adults, she suspects it applies to them, too.

After the students took the survey, the researchers, all from the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University, got the content analysis of the subjects' favorite shows and compared them to the adolescent ratings.

"They did a pretty good job," said Stockdale, who noted that the teens know profanity is there, "it just doesn't change the fact they like the show. But when you hear it through your music and video games and shows, it's hard not to use it."

She said the students were candid when asked about their own aggression. "We gave a definition when we asked. Do you hit people when you're angry? Shove people when you're angry? Throw things when you're angry?"

The study noted that exposure to profanity in the media is a problem acknowledged by society, parents, and others. However, research has not examined the relationship between exposure to profanity in the media and subsequent behavior in adolescents.

They believe it's the first of its kind to reveal any harmful relationship between exposure to profanity in media and attitudinal and behavioral outcomes among adolescents.

The researchers acknowledged that adolescents hear people swear on playgrounds and in school. Asked what good it does to try to protect them from exposures on TV or elsewhere, Stockdale said, "My hope is that everyone will take a step back and say maybe what I'm looking at or listening to really does influence me. If so, I need to be careful what I partake of and what I let my kids partake of." Study authors were lead author and professor Sarah M. Coyne, Stockdale, David A. Nelson and Ashley Fraser, all from the School of Family Life.

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