Brandishing Guns in American Media: Two Studies Examining How Often and in What Context Firearms Appear on Television and in Popular Video Games

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this article is to determine the amount and context of gun violence across 2 electronic media. Study I focuses on the landscape of gun violence on television, including the number of high risk portrayals. Study 2 provides data on the attributes of gun violence in video games. Results for each study are reported in terms of amount per medium and context of portrayal. Finally, differences between televised gun violence and video game gun violence are reported to illustrate how each medium may contribute to problematic behavior.