Aggression and Violent Behavior 10 (2004) 99 – 128
Does viewing violent media really cause criminal violence? A methodological review
Joanne Savage*
Department of Justice, Law and Society, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016-8043, USA Received 9 September 2002; received in revised form 26 October 2003; accepted 30 October 2003
Abstract The topic of media violence has been the subject of heated debate in recent decades. There is a vast empirical literature on the effects of television on aggression but no published comprehensive review has ever focused on those studies that use criminal aggression as their outcome. The present paper represents an attempt to fill this void and provide a resource for those who do not wish to delve into four decades of original research in order to assess this line of investigation. Studies are evaluated based on contemporary standards of research in the field of criminology. Although the possibility that television and film violence has an impact on violent criminality remains, it is concluded here that, despite persistent published reviews that state the contrary, the body of published, empirical evidence on this topic does not establish that viewing violent portrayals causes crime. D 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Television violence; Media violence; Violent crime
1. Introduction A vast empirical literature on the impact of television exposure on aggression has accrued over the last four decades, mostly in the fields of psychology and broadcasting. Reviews of this literature typically conclude that there is evidence that viewing violent media is as-
* Tel.: +1-202-885-2974. E-mail address: jsavage@american.edu (J. Savage). 1359-1789/$ – see front matter D 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2003.10.001
