The long-term effect of media violence exposure on aggression of youngsters

The effect of media violence on aggression has always been a trending issue, and a better understanding of the psychological mechanism of the impact of media violence on youth aggression is an extremely important research topic for preventing the negative impacts of media violence and juvenile delinquency. From the perspective of anger, this study explored the long-term effect of different degrees of media violence exposure on the aggression of youngsters, as well as the role of aggressive emotions. The studies found that individuals with a high degree of media violence exposure (H-MVE) exhibited higher levels of proactive aggression in both irritation situations and higher levels of reactive aggression in low-irritation situations than did participants with a low degree of media violence exposure (L-MVE). After being provoked, the anger of all participants was significantly increased, and the anger and proactive aggression levels of the H-MVE group were significantly higher than those of the L-MVE group. Additionally, rumination and anger played a mediating role in the relationship between media violence exposure and aggression. Overall, this study enriches the theoretical understanding of the long-term effect of media violence exposure on individual aggression. Second, this study deepens our understanding of the relatively new and relevant phenomenon of the mechanism between media violence exposure and individual aggression.