Profanity on TV linked to kids' aggression

Middle-school kids who hear swear words on TV or in video games may act more aggressively toward their peers, physically or otherwise, a small study suggests.

The findings, published in the journal Pediatrics, add to the controversial question of whether media violence and aggression - and now, aggressive words - actually affect kids' behavior.

In a study of 223 kids at one U.S. middle school, researchers found that those exposed to more profanity-laced TV shows or video games tended to use blue language themselves. And kids who used profanity, in turn, reported more instances of aggression - anything from throwing punches to spreading gossip.

None of that proves that bad language in the media makes for bad kids, according to lead researcher Sarah M. Coyne, a professor of family life at Brigham Young University in Utah.

"This study shows a correlation," she told Reuters Health, and does not prove cause-and-effect.

What's more, if media profanity plays any role in kids' aggression, it's not clear how much of an impact it would have.

"There are lots and lots of things that contribute to aggressive behavior," Coyne said.

It's more likely, she added, that bad language on TV and in video games could affect kids' own language - but the ultimate impact on their behavior could be much more complicated.

That said, Coyne pointed out, "profanity itself can be a form of aggression."

She suggested that parents "pay a little more attention" to the language in the programs and games their kids are sitting down to. "We tend to be passive viewers," Coyne noted. "We're so used to hearing profanity all over the place, we might not even notice it (on TV)."

That fact also points to a limitation of the study. Is it media profanity, specifically, that's related to kids' language and behavior? Or do kids exposed to swear words in TV shows and video games also have parents and friends who cuss - and is that the important influence?

"This study isn't rigorous enough to rule out other explanations (for the correlation)," said Christopher J. Ferguson, an associate professor of psychology at Texas A&M International University who was not involved in the research.

"This isn't enough to show a robust correlation, let alone cause-and-effect," Ferguson told Reuters Health.

He said that a number of studies into media violence and kids' aggression have found that once you control for factors like parents' and friends' influences, as well as a child's mental health, the link between media violence and behavior disappears.

"There's really nothing in (the new findings) that parents need to worry about," said Ferguson, whose own research has found no link between media violence and kids' odds of aggressive behavior.