(Press-News.org) AMES, Iowa -- Although parents appreciate having media ratings systems to help protect their kids from questionable content in movies, video games and television, the current age-based system doesn't meet their needs, according to a new study led by Iowa State University's Douglas Gentile. The study found that parents would prefer media ratings that focus on detailed content information.
A national sample of 2,392 parents were surveyed by independent research firms -- Harris Polls and Research Now -- in the study "Parents' Evaluation of Media Ratings a Decade After Television Ratings Were Introduced," which will be published in the July 2011 issue of Pediatrics (published online June 20). It summarizes the results of three studies -- the first from 2007, the second in 2008 and the third in 2009 -- examining what parents really think of current rating systems, how they use them, and what improvements they would make.
"We have always assumed there was general agreement underlying age-based ratings that a certain type of content is acceptable for child of a certain age," said Gentile, an associate professor of psychology. "But nobody, to my knowledge, ever attempted to verify that assumption. In this study we directly asked parents what content they care about, would they restrict their kids from viewing it, and at what age do they think it's acceptable for kids to see each type of content. The surprising result is that parents do not agree at what age it is acceptable to view different types of content.
"When we dug a little deeper and looked at different groups of parents -- those who were regular churchgoers, for example -- they have very different opinions on what age they'd find certain content to be acceptable for children," he said.
A large majority of parents (76 percent) indicated that they would like to see detailed content ratings, as well as age-based ratings.
Study authors -- which also include Julie Maier, an Iowa State psychology graduate student; Mary Rice Hasson, a communications consultant from Fairfax, Va.; and Beatriz Lopez de Bonetti, a market research consultant from Kansas City, Kan. -- conclude that existing ratings do not cover all the areas parents want, are not completely accurate, and as a result, are not used regularly. They wrote that improvements in ratings are needed to make them beneficial for parents.
When asked how they felt about the three current major ratings systems (movies, video games and television), a majority of parents said they regularly used movie ratings the most (48 percent), followed by video game ratings (34 percent) and television ratings (31 percent). But when asked how accurate the ratings were, only 5 to 6 percent viewed the movie, television and video game ratings as always accurate.
"For age-based ratings to be valid, the people who need to use them -- parents -- must generally agree that they are accurate. If parents don't agree at which age different content is acceptable, that means all age-based ratings must, by necessity, be invalid," said Gentile, who first started studying the validity of the ratings systems 10 years ago.
"This is a stake through the heart of age-based ratings," he concluded.
The authors compiled a list of 36 content labels and descriptors -- listed under four content categories: sexual, violent, offensive language and mature -- that Gentile says could be used as a basis for a future content ratings system.
"For about half of those 36 different types of content, more than 50 percent of parents said, 'Yes, I would screen this for my kid if I knew about it,'" he said. "Therefore, we know what content parents want to know about."
A majority of parents thought there should be a universal rating system for all media, including additional media types such as Internet websites and games, music CDs and games on handheld devices. And given that media have converged in a way that almost all types of media can now be accessed on one electronic device, Gentile says it's a good time to re-assess how ratings are applied.
INFORMATION:
Contact the American Academy of Pediatrics Department of Communications at 847-434-7877, or mrt@aap.org, for a copy of the complete study.
Parents prefer media content ratings system to age-based ratings in new national study
2,392 parents were surveyed in new Pediatrics study
2011-06-21
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Care Management Journal Profiles UroMed Catheter Supplies Founder Bert Burns & Spinal Cord Injury
2011-06-21
The July 2011 issue of Care Management, the bimonthly journal of the Academy of Certified Case Managers, features an article that profiles UroMed founder Bert Burns and his recovery after a car accident caused him to become a quadriplegic. The article, "Managing the Care Complexity of Spinal Cord Injury," is approved for 4 hours of CEUs by the Commission for Case Manager Certification and the Certification of Disability Management Specialists Commission.
Read the article at: http://www.uromed.com/Clinicians/ContinuingEducation
"We are humbled that the ...
Probing the secrets of the ryegrasses
2011-06-21
Chemists from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich led by Professor Dirk Trauner have developed a concise and efficient method for the synthesis of the alkaloid loline and related compounds. Loline alkaloids are a biologically interesting group of natural products, which have unusual physicochemical and pharmacological characteristics, but are as of yet poorly understood. They are produced by fungal symbionts that infect weeds and forage grasses, and act as deterrents of insects and other herbivores. Some of the agents synthesized by endophytic fungi are toxic to grazing ...
Improving LED lighting
2011-06-21
CORAL GABLES, FL (June 20, 2011) — University of Miami professor at the College of Engineering, Jizhou Song, has helped design an light-emitting diode (LED) light that uses an array of LEDs 100 times smaller than conventional LEDs. The new device has flexibility, maintains lower temperature and has an increased life-span over existing LEDs. The findings are published online by the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
Incandescent bulbs are not very efficient, most of the power they use is converted into heat and only a small fraction of the power gets converted ...
Learning from mom boosts low-income kids' school readiness
2011-06-21
Previous research says on average, children living in poverty are less well prepared to start school than children from middle-income homes. Now, new research says home learning experiences may help low-income children's school readiness.
"Our findings indicate that enriched learning experiences as early as the first year of life are important to children's vocabulary growth, which in turn provides a foundation for children's later school success," said Eileen T. Rodriguez, survey researcher at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Rodriguez, the study's lead author, conducted ...
Stopping foreclosure delay will bring housing improvement, Kansas State study says
2011-06-21
MANHATTAN, KAN. -- As housing prices in the United States continue to drop, a Kansas State University professor says the best way to help the market is to stop delaying foreclosures.
While negotiations continue between state attorneys general and banks over a settlement that looks at foreclosure practices, some of the settlement proposals may backfire and do more harm than good, according to two recent studies co-authored by Kansas State finance professor Eric Higgins.
Higgins co-authored the studies with Charles Calomiris, a professor at Columbia Business School, and ...
Inducing labor is not associated with higher rates of cesarean sections
2011-06-21
A new study published in the international Nordic journal Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica (AOGS) reveals that inducing labor in the weeks around term, or from week 39 to week 41, is not connected with higher rates of cesarean section compared with waiting for a later spontaneous or induced labor. There has been much debate about this in recent years with a concern that induction as opposed to expectant management might lead to a higher risk for the woman to end up with emergency cesarean section, rather than to deliver normally.
Ole Bredahl Rasmussen, MD, ...
Hollywood Beach Becomes a True South Florida Wedding Destination
2011-06-21
Situated apart from the busy strip of tourist areas near Fort Lauderdale, you will find an emerging destination that is ideal for South Florida Weddings or any event where your wish is to be on the beach.
Hollywood, Florida has really been buzzing across the land as the hottest spot when looking for a hometown, beachtown experience. Brides and grooms rant and rave throughout the world wide web via blogs and social sites that Hollywood has all the ingredients as that perfect experience for a Florida Wedding.
Wedding venues become harder and harder to choose from, since ...
Device could improve harvest of stem cells from umbilical cord blood
2011-06-21
Johns Hopkins graduate students have invented a system to significantly boost the number of stem cells collected from a newborn's umbilical cord and placenta, so that many more patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood disorders can be treated with these valuable cells.
The prototype is still in the testing stage, but initial results are promising. The student inventors have obtained a provisional patent covering the technology and have formed a company, TheraCord LLC, to further develop the technology, which may someday be used widely in hospital maternity units. ...
Hudson Ferry Capital Closes $155 Million SBIC
2011-06-21
Hudson Ferry Capital is pleased to announce the final closing of Hudson Ferry Capital II, L.P. ("HFC II") with capital of $155 million. HFC II is a Small Business Investment Company ("SBIC") licensed by the Small Business Administration and is focused on making "buy-in" investments in established, family-owned U.S. businesses. Hudson Ferry defines "buy-ins" as control investments with existing managers who retain substantial ownership positions. This creates a true partnership with a common goal of transforming a small or regional ...
7 new species of mammals discovered on Luzon
2011-06-21
A group of American and Filipino biologists have discovered seven previously unknown species of mammals in the Philippines, increasing the number of native mammals known from Luzon Island (excluding bats) from 42 to 49 (17 percent).
The formal descriptions of the seven species, all of which are members of the genus Apomys, were published on 20 May in Fieldiana, the peer-reviewed journal of The Field Museum, where the project is based. The nine co-authors included biologists from the University of the Philippines, the Philippine National Museum, Conservation International-Philippines, ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Cercus electric stimulation enables cockroach with trajectory control and spatial cognition training
Day-long conference addresses difficult to diagnose lung disease
First-ever cardiogenic shock academy features simulation lab
Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained
Less intensive works best for agricultural soil
Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation
Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests
Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome
UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership
New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll
Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes
University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025
Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025
AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials
New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age
Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker
Chips off the old block
Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia
Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry
Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19
Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity
State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections
Young adults drive historic decline in smoking
NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research
Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development
This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack
FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology
In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity
Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects
A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions
[Press-News.org] Parents prefer media content ratings system to age-based ratings in new national study2,392 parents were surveyed in new Pediatrics study