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Autonomic and cardiovascular responses of preschool children to television programs
Insights
Children
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nursing
- Developmental Psychology
- Media Psychology
Background:
- Television viewing is a pervasive cultural phenomenon impacting children.
- Previous research links psychosocial effects to children's television (TV) programming.
- Understanding physiological responses to TV content is crucial for child development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate potential cardiovascular and autonomic arousal in preschool children during TV viewing.
- To examine physiological responses to prosocial versus violent children's TV content.
- To explore the relationship between TV programming and heart rate (HR) and skin temperature (ST).
Main Methods:
- Exploratory study involving 18 preschool children in a naturalistic daycare setting.
- Measured heart rates (HR) and skin temperatures (ST) during exposure to two distinct TV clips.
- Utilized clips from "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood" (prosocial) and "G.I. Joe" (violent).
Main Results:
- Significant increase in heart rate (HR) observed during exposure to violent cartoon content.
- Skin temperature (ST) showed a non-significant decrease.
- A significant effect of time on ST suggests potential habituation to the viewing experience.
Conclusions:
- Violent children's TV programming can elicit significant cardiovascular arousal in preschool children.
- Physiological responses to TV content warrant consideration in nursing assessment and parental education.
- Further research is needed to understand the implications of autonomic and cardiovascular responsiveness to TV in children.
Abstract:
This exploratory study examined the heart rates (HR) and skin temperatures (ST) of 18 preschool children while they viewed two clips of everyday children's television (TV) programming. The measurements were made in a day care setting, in a naturalistic environment designed to mimic the real world of children's TV viewing. The purpose of the study was to determine whether cardiovascular and autonomic arousal to TV programming might occur in some children. Since a large body of psychosocial literature addresses the affects of TV violence on children, HR and ST were examined during exposure to scenes from Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and G.I. Joe cartoons. The Mr. Roger's clip was slow, rhythmic, prosocial, and nonviolent, while the G.I. Joe clip was fast-paced, staccato, colorful, and full of verbal and action violence. The study found a significant effect of exposure to the cartoon violence on HR, with HR increasing. ST decreased, but not significantly, and there was a significant effect of time on the ST, due possibly to habituation. This finding has relevance to nursing assessment, intervention, and education of parents and children, since TV viewing is a pervasive cultural phenomenon. The possibility of excessive or inappropriate autonomic and cardiovascular responsiveness in some children to TV must be considered.