Purpose of review: This paper reviews research on the effects of contact with war media coverage on psychological outcomes in children.
Recent findings: Children's contact with media coverage of war is pervasive and is associated with numerous outcomes and with their parents' reactions. Younger children are more affected by news stories with visual cues, while older children are more distressed by stories about actual threat. There is a strong theoretical basis for developmental influences on children's war media reactions, but the potential influence of other child factors (e.g., gender, socioeconomic disadvantage, prior trauma, culture, religious and political ideology) and aspects of coverage and the context of contact warrant additional attention. More research also is needed to explore differential effects of media coverage on children with different war exposures, the strategies children use to cope with coverage, and the mediating effects of parental involvement and intervention.
Keywords: Children; Media; Mental health; News coverage; Television; War.