Adolescents and the Media

Victor C. Strasburger has given us a clear, concise summary of a massive amount of information on a very important subject. This slim volume should be read by every professional who cares for and about adolescents. --Michael B. Rothenberg, M.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Washington School of Medicine "There is much of value here. An opening chapter provides an excellent overview of how mass communication research is conducted, and subsequent chapters focus on current findings regarding the effects of televised portrayals of violence, sex, and the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and food on adolescents. . . . Comprehensive and well-referenced bibliography. . . . Adolescents and the Media is recommended for a general readership and for undergraduate collections in media studies, health care, and education." --Choice Violent television programs, gory video games, print tobacco advertising, TV beer commercials, and sexually suggestive music videos. How do these and other forms of popular media affect the thinking, behavior, and health of America′s teenagers? Adolescents and the Media provides a state-of-the-art review of research findings on the influence of such media as television, movies, video games, print advertising, rock music, and music videos on adolescents. Beginning from a theoretical and conceptual background of adolescent development, the book covers findings on violence, sexual activity, substance abuse, and eating disorders and makes a clear case that media play a role in diverse facets of at-risk behavior and adjustment. It concludes with recommended strategies for preventing adverse media effects on youths. Mental health professionals and policy makers, primary care physicians and nurses, educators, and almost anyone who works with and cares about adolescents, will find this an eye-opening work.

Victor C. Strasburger is Chief of the Division of Adolescent Medicine, Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, and Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the University of New Mexico. He graduated from Yale College, where he studied fiction writing with Robert Penn Warren, and from Harvard Medical School. He trained at the Children′s Hospital in Seattle, St. Mary′s Hospital Medical School in London, and the Boston Children′s Hospital. He has authored more than 160 articles and papers and 12 books on the subject of adolescent medicine and the effects of television on children and adolescents. In 2000, he was recipient of the American Academy of Pediatrics′ Adele Delenbaugh Hofmann Award for outstanding lifetime achievement in Adolescent Medicine and the Holroyd-Sherry Awrd for outstanding achievement in public health and the media. He is a consultant to the American Academy of Pediatrics′ Committee on Communications, has served as a consultant to the National PTA and the American Medical Association on the subject of children and television, and lectures frequently throughout the country.