Consensus Near on Violent Media Effect's

B O S T O N, Sept. 11 -- In the aftermath of the Columbine High School shootings, fingers quickly pointed at the violent media favored by the killers: shoot ’em up video games, Quentin Tarantino films, Marilyn Manson music.

But what does the research actually say? Has the connection between watching violent behavior and behaving violently ever been proven?

In other words, can violent media really make good kids go bad?

Scientists have found that proving that link can be a frustrating undertaking, with many other factors — family history, poverty, poor schooling — factoring into a complex equation.

Thousands of Studies Agree

But after four decades of research and more than 3,000 studies examining the issue, most say the theory that violent entertainment causes aggression is proven — although entertainment groups and some social scientists are still loath to admit it.

In his announcement this morning slamming the video game, music and movie industries for marketing “mature” material to children, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Robert Pitofsky said his agency’s review of the scientific literature raises “a valid cause for concern.”

“Scholars and observers generally agree that exposure to violent materialsalone does not cause a child to commit a violent act,” he said. “Exposure to violent materials probably is not even the most important factor.”

However, he added, “Exposure does seem to correlate with aggressive attitudes, insensitivity to violence and an exaggerated view of how much violence occurs in the world.”

Assumptions Slowly Revised

The longstanding debate dates back to congressional hearings first held in the ’50s, followed by a 1972 Surgeon General’s report on “Television and Social Behavior” and a report a decade later by the National Institute of Mental Health.

“Ten years ago, the questions were still, ‘Does it have any influence?’ Now, the conversation starts from the assumption it does,” says psychologist David Walsh, president of the National Institute on Media and the Family. “It wasn’t until there were literally hundreds of studies that people were willing to move beyond that question.”