Jaela Javier,

Sponsor or Client: 

Title:

Practical Value in Violence Exposure

Abstract:

With the expansion of the internet in the twenty-first century, the US population, youths, in particular, have had the opportunity to peruse the internet with minimal supervision. Nearly 95% of all youth in the United States have access to a cell phone (Pew Research Center). With this, the risk of exposing youth to unwanted content has also risen. Violence exposure rates have gone up by more than fifty percent in just television programming alone (Fast Facts: Violence on Television). Although the effects of violence exposure are currently being researched, previous literature on the topic only investigates the correlation between exposure to violence and aggression. In order to address this gap in research, the present study is intended to observe the relationship between violence exposure and other behaviors or emotions, specifically cautious/preventative behavior. Researchers hypothesize that violence exposure will have a positive correlation with crime-preventative behavior. It is expected that first-year college females in particular will be associated with cautiousness. Utilizing a between-subjects design, the present study will administer a self-report Qualtrics questionnaire in order to measure the relationship between violence exposure and cautious/preventative behavior, fear, frequency, enjoyment, and empathy. Participants will be found via convenience sampling through the SONA System. Participants also have to be at least eighteen years old and enrolled at the Northern Arizona University Flagstaff campus. Once data collection is complete, a mediation analysis will be used and conducted through SPSS in order to evaluate the relationship between violence exposure and the specific behaviors and emotions listed.