More Related Content Similar to Clinical Psychology Dissertation Example (20) Clinical Psychology Dissertation Example2. Abstract
TeenagestudentsintheUSAareconsideredasamongthegroup
ofpopulationthatismostlyatriskofbeingexposedandinfluencedby
violence.Thisgroupofindividualsspendsmostoftheirfreetimein
mediaengagement,whichalsoincludesthepossibilityofviewing
uncontrollableviolentcontent.Researchhasshownthatexposure
ttoviolence,whetheritisinreallife,orinmedia,isoftenlinkedwith
theincreasedaggressivebehaviorandhostility,alongsideadecreasein
empathy.However,notallteenagestudentsareaffectedwiththis
exposure.Itisjustthatthosestudentswhohavebeenexposedto
bothcommunityandpersonalviolence,orthosewhotendtobe
predisposedtowardsaggressivebehaviorareoftenatriskfor
thenegativeimpactofsuchexposure.
Thisstudyexploredtheimpactofbothrealandmediaexposure
toviolenceon119teenagehighschoolstudents.Theparticipantshad
tocompletesevenself-reporttoolsthatcanmeasuretodifferenttypes
ofviolence,hostileattributions,psychopathology,empathy,aggression,
aswellassocialdesirability.Becauseofthedifferencesfoundin
thesamples,theresultsalsohadtobeseparatelyanalyzed.
ChapterOne
IIntroduction
TeenagestudentswithinUSAhavebeenfoundtobeincluded
amongthegroupsofpeoplewhoaremostlyatriskofbeingexposed
toviolence(BureauofStatisticsintheUSA,2007).Ontopofthe
severalconsequencesinthesociety,individualswhoareexposedto
violenceareaffectedpersonallybecauseofthisexperience.While
ttheteenagestudentsmaydiffertowardtheirresponsetotheir
exposuretoviolence,ageneralresponseincludesthedevelopmentof
anew viewpointoftheworld,lookingatitasanunsafeandnegative
place,viewingothersasthreateningorevenhostile(Powers&Garner,
2005).Accordingtoresearch,increaseinaggressivebehaviorand
hostilethoughtstowardothers,includingthedecreasetowardsshowing
empathytoothersareamongthegeneralconsequencesofbeing
exexposedtobothcommunityorpersonalviolence.
PsyDissertation.com
ResearchinClinicalPsychology
3. Eventhoughnotallteenagestudentsmaybeexposedtoviolence
inthecommunityorathome,theaverageteenagestudentisexposed
togreatquantitiesofdifferenttypesofviolenceasshownthroughthe
mediaeveryyear.Differenttypesofentertainment,includingfilm,
television,videogames,musicvideosandothers,havebeensubjects
oflatestresearchontheeffectsofviolenceinmedia.Meta-analytic
andindividualstudieshavealsodemonstratedthatexposureto
viviolencethroughmediaonlyincreasesaggressivebehaviorand
hostility,whiledecreasingthefeelingofempathytowardsotherpeople.
ChapterTwo
LiteratureReview
Asawhole,Americanseitherwitnessorexperienceviolence
almosteveryday.Minorexamplesmayincludeworkplaceharassment,
schoolbullying,socialinjustice,aswellasfamilyarguments.These
experiencesarecommon,buthaveaffectedalotofpeopleboth
psychologicallyandphysically.Wilmerexplainsthatweeasilyrespond
todailyviolencewithcertainsymptomssuchasdesensitization,
distractibility,bravado,ordistress(Wilmer,2005).
Everyyear,agoodnumberofAmericansalsobecomewitnesses
andvictimstoseriousviolence,includingassault,rape,homicideand
burglary.AsexplainedbytheBureauofJustice(2007),violencerates
intheUSAhavedeclinedduringthepastyears.However,teenage
studentsstillcontinueexperiencinghighratesofviolence.Whilemales
areusuallythevictimsofsuchviolence,therehasbeenatrendduring
thepastfew yearswhichendedupclosingthegendergap,showing
ththatallteenagestudentsarestillatriskforexposuretoviolence
(BureauofJustice,2007).
References
Wilmer,D.G(2005).ManualforTeenageSelf-Reportand2006
Profile.
Burlington:VermontUniversity,PsychiatryDepartment.
Powers,A.B.&Garner,B.E.(2005).Aggressiononhumans.Yearly
PsychologyReview,54,28-52.
PsyDissertation.com
ResearchinClinicalPsychology