Fright reactions to television - A child survey

Using telephone interviews with a random sample of Dutch children between t he ages of 7 and 12 years, the authors investigated laf the prevalence of t elevision-induced fright, (b) whether the fear-inducing capacity of differe nt types of television content (interpersonal violence, fantasy characters, war and suffering, and fires and accidents) is associated with the child's age and gender, and (c) how boys and girls in different age groups cope wi th their television-induced fears. Thirty-one percent of the children repor ted having been frightened By television during the preceding year. Both ch ildren's television-induced fears and their coping strategies to reduce suc h fears varied by age and gender.