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In the search to prevent mass shootings, ideas such as banning assault-style rifles and arming teachers are dominating debate.
But a couple of recent news reports deserve special attention. One involves the effects television viewing have on children. The other touches on what experts suggest people do should they be in such an unfathomable situation.
While several studies have made ties between watching violence on screens with aggressive and violent behavior, a new study published in Pediatrics offers the best evidence yet: Watching a lot of violence on TV as a child can lead to criminal behavior as an adult.
The study involved more than 1,000 children born in 1972 and 1973 and tracked their TV-watching habits at ages 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15. As Forbes reported, researchers then looked at the criminal records of the subjects from ages 17 through 26, specifically tracking aggravated robbery, assault, rape and disorderly behavior leading to violence.
They found that for every hour of TV the kids watched on an average weeknight, their risk of criminal convictions increased by almost 30 percent. In addition, they found a link between more TV-watching as a child and a greater likelihood for aggressiveness, negativity and an antisocial personality as an adult.
As Forbes put it, "this 'dose-response relationship' is similar to what you'd see with a medication, where the more drug you administer, the more of a given response there is."
Amid the political debate this nation is having about the elusive factors involved in mass shootings, this study must not be ignored. It's the best evidence yet about a controllable factor affecting a person's behavior.
And better yet, it doesn't take a new law or policy to make changes. It just takes parents paying attention to what their children watch.
Finally, it's as sad and horrific as it is necessary, but law enforcement experts recently highlighted a major change in advice to people in a mass shooting. They clarified that as a last line of defense, people should confront a shooter.
Previously, they recommended simply waiting for help. But noting how Flight 93 passengers overtook those terrorists on 9/11, plus how victims in 29 of 84 recent shootings stopped the attackers before police arrived, law enforcement now urges the last line of defense be directly confronting the shooter.
The new mantra: Get Out, Call Out, Hide Out, Keep Out, Take Out.
Good to know, but terrifying to have to apply.
---St. Cloud (Minn.) Times