Reflective Thoughts About Violent Media Content – Development and Validation of a Bilingual Self-Report Scale

• In Event: Media Violence and Aggression

Abstract

This study investigates audiences’ reflective thoughts about violent media content with the aim of developing a cross-culturally validated scale in English and German. Exploratory factor analysis of an item pool derived from qualitative interviews yielded five dimensions of reflective thoughts about: (1) human cruelty and suffering from violence, (2) own or close others’ experiences with violence, (3) the true story behind violent content, (4) strategies learnt for dealing with violence in real life, and (5) moral complexities of violence. Scale items selected to represent the five dimensions showed measurement invariance across different countries (the US and Germany), and different media formats (fact and fiction), as well as convergent validity with eudaimonic media experiences.

Authors

• Anne Bartsch, University of Leipzig

• Sebastian Scherr, U of Leuven

• Marie-Louise Mares, U of Wisconsin-Madison

• Mary Beth Oliver, Pennsylvania State U