FAMILY COMMUNICATION STRUCTURES AND PARENTAL

CONTROL OF CHILDREN'S TELEVISION VIEWING

by

PEGGY KINCANNOF JiANGOLO, B.3. in Ed.

A THESIS

IN

MASS COMMUNICATION

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in

Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

the Degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Approved

Accepted

December, 1975

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude and deep

appreciation to the members of my committee. Dr. Alexis Tan,

chairman. Dr. Dennis Harp, and Dr. Billy I. Ross, for their

constructive suggestions and support.

1 1

TABLE 01' CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii

LIST OF TABLES V

I. INTRODUCTION 1

Statement of Problem 1

Literature Review 3

Objectives of the Study 5

Conceptual Definition of Variables 5

Justification 7

Limitations of the Study 9

II. METHODS AND PROCEDURES 10

Questionnaire Development 10

Sampling and Questionnaires Administration . 11

Measures 11

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 15

Description of Sample 15

Descriptive Analysis 16

Family Communication Structures by Demographic Variables . . . . . 24

Parental perceptions of Ill-Effects of Television by Demographic Variables . . . . 28

Parental Restrictions of Children's Tele­vision Viewing by Demographic Variables . . 3 3

Family Comjnunication Structures by Parental Perceptions of Ill-Effects of Television 36

t • •

111

Family Coimnunication Structures by Parental Restrictions of Children's Television Viewing , . . . . 38

Family Coimnunication Structures by Parent Television Viewing Time and by Children's Television Viewing Time 39

Parent Television Viewing Time and Children's Television Viewing Time 41

Parental Perceptions of Ill-Effects of Television by Parental Restrictions of Children's Television Viewing 42

Adherence to Program Advisories by Family Communication Structures, Parental Percep­tions of Ill-Effects, and Parental Restric­tions of Children's Television Viewing . . . 43

IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 48

Summary of Objectives . 4 8

Summary of Methodology 48

Summary of Data 49

Conclusions 54

Recommendations 57

REFERENCES 60

APPENDIX 62

A. FAMILY VIEWING TELEVISION CODE 63

B. QUESTIONNAIRE 64

IV

LIST OF TABLES

1. Family Communication Structure Items: Percentages of Respondents, Items 1 to 6 . . . . 17

2. Average Daily Television Viewing Time .19

3. Parental Perceptions of Ill-Effects of Tele­vision: Percentages of Respondents, Items 9 to 14 20

4. Parental Restrictions of Children's Television Viewing: Percentages of Respondents, Items 16 to 19 23

5. Family Communication Structures by Age 25

6. Family Commiunication Structures by Sex 25

7. Family Communication Structures by Number of

Family Members 26

8. Family Communication Structures by Education . . 27

9. Family Communication Structures by Occupation . 28

10. Parental Perceptions of Ill-Effects by Age . . . 29

11. Parental Perceptions of Ill-Effects by Sex . . . 30

12. Parental Perceptions of Ill-Effects by Number of Children , 3 0

13. Parental Perceptions of Ill-Effects by Education 32

14. Parental Perceptions of Ill-Effects by Occupation 32

15. Parental Restrictions of Children's Television Viewing by Age I 34

16. Parental Restrictions by Sex 35

17. Parental Restrictions by Number of Children . . 35

IS. Family Communication Structures by Parental Perceptions of Ill-Effects 37

v

19. Family Communication Structures by Parental Restrictions 38

20. Family Conimunication Structures by Parent Television Viewing Time 40

21. Family Comnmnication Structures by Children's Television Viewing Time 41

22. Parental Perceptions of Ill-Effects by Parental Restrictions of Children's Television Viewing . 43

23. Adherence to Program Advisories by Family Communication Structures 4 4

24. Adherence to Program Advisories by Parental Perceptions of Ill-Effects 45

25. Adherence to Program Advisories by Parental Restrictions 46

26. Correlations Between Parent TV Viewing Time, Children's Television Viev/ing Time, Family Communication Structures, Parental Perceptions of Ill-Effects of Television, and Parental Restrictions of Children's TV Viewing 47

VI

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Statement of Problem

Since the emergence of television in urban America,

trhere has been marked ccncc-rn over the effect of television

programs upon thc3 personality and behavioral development oi

children. In recent years, the most broadbased research to

exam.ine the effect of television on children is that of the

Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Tele­

vision and Social Behavior. One of the conclusions of a

series of studies commissioned by the commitr.ee was that

some causative relationship does exist" between televised

violence and subsequent behavior within certain subgroups

of children. The committee called for action on the part

of the television industry, the government, responsible

authorities, and the citizens to control violence and bru­

tality on television (Liebert, Neale, and Davidson, 197 3).

To date, as a means of self-regulation, the National Asso­

ciation of Broadcasters and the three m.ajor television net­

works have adopted a policy calling for the first two hours

of network prime time to be devoted to "family viewing"

program.s and recomraending advisories be run on programs

considered inappropriate for family audiences (Broadcasting,

1975). In effect, then, the major responsibility of control

lies with the family unit.

Today's youth receives influences from family, friends,

school, the mass media, and peers. The only social insti­

tution in which a child has been involved since birth is

his family. Relative to this, the majority of a child's

television viewing takes place in the environment of his

home. Research in recent years has developed methods for

formulating the patterns of parent-child communication in

the home. Each family possesses characteristic communica­

tion patterns that are marked with consistent differences

betv/een family communication structures. Research has

shown that family communication patterns can influence

children's media utilization in terms of time and choice

of specific m.edia (Chaffee and McLeod, 1972) .

Considering that the television industry's self-

regulatory measures assign most of the control to the family

(e.g., parents), a need exists for an analysis of the rela­

tionships between family communication structures, parental

perceptions of television, children's television viewing

time, and actual parental control of children's television

viewing. This is necessary in order to provide insight

into the effectiveness and value of the television industry's

efforts to provide family viewing guidelines and programs.

Literature Roview

According to the pioneering work of Wilbur Schranmi in

the field oZ television and its effects on children, com­

mercial television is ". . . exciting, emotional, violent,

and anintellectual." The effect of television is an inter­

action between characteristics of television and

istics of its users. The child's response to television

depends on the initial relationship of the child and his

family, friends, and school. Children with satisfactory re­

lationships with others generally have less need to turn to

television for companionship. However, the more frustrated

the child, the more his aggression v/ill be heightened by

viewing violence and aggression (Schramm, Lyle, and Parker,

1961) .

Recent research has focused on how children are affected

by violence seen on television. Some studies reported by

the Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Tele­

vision and Social Behavior, for example, revealed that

exposure to televised aggression can contribute to the

aggressive behavior of many normal children.

Other evidence exists indicating some potentially nega­

tive influence of television on children. Experiments done

by Robert Snov; (1974) involving realistic or fantasized

violence on television revealed that children can distinguish

between reality and fantasy, and that children are more

sensitive to real violence than that of fantasy. Studies

done with first grade students by Lyle and Hoffman (1971)

and LoSciuto (197.1) revealed that children are at times

frightened by something seen on television and often dream

about things seen on television. Interviews with mothers

of young children conducted by Hess and Goldman (1962) and

Roberts and Baird (1971) revealed a significant percentage

of respondents felt that television was a source of bad

dreams for their children.

Investigations of family communication patterns, al­

though originally concerned with developmental antecedents

of individual differences in inoculation against persuasion

(Stone, 1969), have provided some useful insights into

various social behaviors of children. Chaffee, McLeod,

and Wackman (1971), for example, revealed that family com­

munication patterns aid in accounting for variations in

children's political socialization, cognitive development,

and mass media use. The Surgeon General's Committee Report

related family communication structures to children's tele­

vision viewing. Among significant results were correlations

between parents' television viewing time and younger chil­

dren's television viewing time. This strongly suggests a

process of the child "modeling" his viewing behavior after

parental example. Of more significant influence on parent-

child television viewing similarities is the habitual

structure of family communication (Chaffee and McLeod,

1972). Greater parent-child television use and parental

control seem to be found in socio-oriented homes, especially

for entertainment purposes (Chaffee, McLeod, and Atkin,

1971).

Objectives of the Study

This study examined relationships between family com­

munication structures and parental control of children's

television viewing. The specific objective of the study

was to determine whether relationships exist among family

communication structures and parental restrictions, parental

perceptions of television's ill-effects on children, and

family television viewing time. Other objectives of the

study were to determine whether there is a lower utilization

of television in concept-oriented families and v/hether more

parental restrictions can be observed in homes of socio-

oriented families (as suggested by Chaffee and McLeod, 1972).

Relative to this is the information concerning adherence by

the parent to advisories run on specific television program.s

considered too mature in nature or content for family view­

ing, and classification of the advisory's effectiveness

according to family communication structures.

Conceptual Definitions of Variables

The family communication structure is generally cate­

gorized on a two-dimensional basis. In these two major

6

family structures, the parents may emphasize either, neither,

or both of the two kinds of structural relations. The chil­

dren then perceive reality in terms of these structural

constraints. The two dimensions of family communication

structure are "socio-orientation" and "concept-orientation."

In the socio-oriented family, the parent frequently

stresses that the children generally stay away from inter­

personal disagreements, avoid social conflict, defer to

elders. In the concept-oriented family, the emphasis is on

expressing one's opinion and considering all sides of an

issue. Stone and Chaffee (197 0) revealed that a socio-

oriented person v/ill tend to yield to a persuasive message

more than a concept-oriented person will yield. Concept-

oriented and socio-oriented patterns generally interact,

producing structural patterns that are not simply the suras

of their functions. However, there are consistent enough

differences to warrant the two-dimensional typology. Theo­

retically, it is the structure, not the specific content,

of parent-child communication that the child learns to

generalize. In most studies, family communication struc­

tures are discussed in terms of four patterns:

Laissez-faire families. Emphasize neither type of rela­

tionship. Children are not prohibited from challenging

parental views, but neither are they exposed to the world of

independent ideas. The child generally receives no guidance

from his parents as parental views fluctuate and are in­

definite.

Protective families. Stress sociorelations only. The

child is encouraged to get along with others and is pro­

hibited from expressing dissent. The child is given little

opportunity to encounter controversy on which he might base

his own views.

Pluralistic families. Emphasize the exploration of

new ideas and exposure to controversial material. The child

is encouraged to be an independent thinker without fear of

endangering social relations with his parents. This is the

most permissive category of fam.ily communication.

Consensual families. Stress both socio and concept

orientations. The child is exposed to controversy and told

to take part in it. However, he is encouraged to learn and

adopt his parent's ideas and values (Chaffee, McLeod, and

Atkin, 1971).

For purposes in this study, analysis will be limited to the

two major dimensions, concept-oriented and socio-oriented.

Concept-oriented families include laissez-faire and plural­

istic structures. Socio-oriented families include consensual

and protective families.

Justification

An investigation of the relevant research concerning

family communication patterns and parental influence on

8

children's television use reveals no recent study relating

the communication patterns and parental control of chil­

dren' s television viewing to the most recent self-regulations

of the television industry. Ninety-six percent of all Ameri­

can homes contain at least one television set. Of the

seventy million homes in the United States, 67 percent have

at least one television set, and 2 9 percent have two or more

television sets. Twenty percent of American families have

young or adolescent children (Statistical Abstract of the

United States, 1974). Most children watch at least some

television every day, most likely for at least two hours.

Stein and Friedrich (1971) noted the amount of television

viewing increases through elementary years but decreases

through the high school years. Most younger children watch

television in the evening until 9:00 p.m. Children in the

sixth grade watch until after 10:00 p.m. Thus, many older

elementary children watch television through most of the

prime time period (Lyle, 1972).

Watching television appears to be a "cultural universal"

in early adolescence. The period in which the developing

child withdraws from heavy television use in later adoles­

cence is also the period in which the child becomes less

and less influenced by his parents (Chaffee and McLeod,

1972). Lyle and Hoffman's (1971) study revealed that about

one-third of the students in the study were aware that their

parents had exerted some type of television viev/ing control

when they were younger. Therefore, this study is concerned

with families with children betvreen the ages of six and

twelve, the ages in v/hich the heaviest television viewing

takes place. This age group experiences more parental

scrutiny of television viewing than that of the older adoles­

cent.

The results of this study should aid the television

industry in determining the effectiveness of their self-

im.posed regulations concerning family viewing programs dur­

ing prime time periods. Of interest to television adver­

tisers would be the communication characteristics of the

two dimensions of family communication and which family

structure experiences the heaviest television viewing.

Generally, this study should provide deeper insight into

the interaction of television and family communication.

Limitations of the Study

The major limitation of this study was the method of

gathering data. Rather than phone interviews, personal

interviews with the parent would have generated possibil­

ities for more in-depth questions concerning each variable.

CHAPTER II

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

Questionnaire Development

The questionnaire was initially developed through

studying questionnaires used in previous similar studies

and through consulting with members of the graduate faculty

in the department of Mass Communications, Texas Tech Uni­

versity. The first version of the questionnaire was pre­

tested on twenty respondents. The results of the pretest

revealed a need for minor revisions. The final version of

the questionnaire was a combination of open-ended questions

and closed questions based on a Likert type scale which

offered four choices for the response. Five general classi­

fications of questions were included in the questionnaire

to measure the research variables. Questions were grouped

according to their classification. The five variables mea­

sured were: family communication structures, parental per­

ceptions of ill-effects of television, parental restrictions

of children's television viewing, parental and children's

television viewing time, and demographic information. The

demographic questions were included in order to establish

randomness in the survey, and to investigate relationships

between certain demographic characteristics (e.g., SES) and

the other variables.

10

11

Sampling and Questionnaire Administration

The unit of analysis was the family with children be­

tween the ages of six and twelve. Each family included in

the survey possessed at least one operating television set.

Administration of the questionnaire was conducted by tele­

phone. The questionnaire required the response of only

one parent per family. A probability sample of 4 00 tele­

phone numbers was gathered from the Lubbock City Directory

by means of a table of random numbers. The telephone survey

was conducted primarily by female interviewers during the

evening hours between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. The survey

began in June, 1975, and took approximately four vzeeks to

complete. The first question asked by the interviewer was

if the respondent had children between the ages of six and

twelve. If the response was "No," the interviewer thanked

the respondent, hung up, and chose another name in the

directory by means of the table of random numbers. By this

means, randomness was preserved throughout the survey.

Measures

The measures used in the questionnaire are described

below. The variables measured were the classification of

each family into a two-dimensional structure of family com­

munication, parental restrictions of children's television

viewing, parental perceptions of ill-effects evolving from

television, and parent-child television viewing time aver­

ages. The parental adherence to advisories run by the tele­

vision networks was also measured, along with various demo­

graphic information (age of respondent, sex, education,

occupation, family size, and number of functioning television

sets in the home).

Family Communication Patterns. Structure of family com­

munication was measured by the response to six questions

based on characteristics of both types of communication pat­

terns (see items #.1 to #6, Appendix B) . The measurement

instrument was a four point Likert scale. Each question was

weighted according to which family structure it represented.

The scale was based on previous studies and research done by

Chaffee and McLeod (1972) and Chaffee and Stone (1970). The

mean scores of the six combined items between 2.33 and 3.50

represented the socio-oriented family structures. The mean

scores between 1.0 and 2.17 were representative of the

concept-oriented family structures. These constituted natu­

ral breaks in sample responses, using total sample mean

scores as parameters.

Socioeconomic Status. SES was measured by the parent's

response concerning education and occupation of primary fi­

nancial supporter of the family. Other demographic variables

measured were sex, age, family size, numiber of children be­

tween the ages of six and twelve years of age, and num.ber of

13

functioning television sets per home (see items #22 to #28,

Appendix B).

Television Viewing Time. For both parent and child,

television viewing time was measured by the respondent's

self-estimate of the hours his children spend watching tele­

vision per day and the hours he spends watching television

per day (see items #7 and #8, Appendix B). The mean for

this category was determined by the following three-item

scale: 0 to 1 hour—low; 2 to 3 hours—medium; 4 or more

hours--high.

Parental Perceptions of Ill-Effects of Television. 111 •

effects of television perceived by the parent were measured

by seven items relating to the value of television. These

item.s were adopted from Hess and Goldman (1962) . The re­

sponses to the seven items (see #9 to #15, Appendix B) were

measured by the four point Likert scale. Those mean scores

between 2.8 4 and 3.30 were representative of the strongest

negative perceptions of parents concerning television and

their children. Measures between 2.17 and 2.83 were repre­

sentative of moderate negative perceptions, and mean scores

between 2.16 and 1.0 represented low negative perceptions.

Again, these constituted natural breaks of sample responses

based on total sample mean scores. An open-ended question

was included in this category to allow the parent to con­

tribute his opinion of a television program too violent or

14

undesirable for his children between the ages of six and

twelve.

Parental Restrictions of Children's Television Viewing.

Control of the parent over the child's television viewing

was measured by responses to six questions (see items #16

to #21, Appendix B). The question concerning adherence to

television network advisories was included in this category.

A mean score of 3.25 to 4.0 based on the Likert measure was

interpreted as strict parental control. Mean scores of 2.25

to 3.0 represented moderate parental restrictions, and mean

scores of 1.5 to 2.0 represented low parental control. These

scores constituted natural breaks of sample responses based

on total sample mean scores.

CHAPTER III

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

According to Backstrom and Hursh (1963), 384 valid

responses are required for a 95 percent confidence level

and 5 percent error allowance in a simple random sample.

Thus, 4 00 telephone numbers were selected for the survey.

However, pretesting indicated that 2 64 respondents would

result in comparable accuracy primarily due to the homoge­

neity of the population and lower variances for most of

the measures. The homogeneous elements of the population

included: 1) the possession of at least one operating

television set, 2) the respondent being a parent with,

3) at least one child between the ages of six and twelve.

Therefore, the total number of respondents from which in­

formation was drawn was 264.

Description of Sam.ple

The age of respondents varied from 21 to 52 years. The

mean age was 32.8. The distribution between female and male

respondents was 53 percent female, 47 percent male. No fam­

ily surveyed had more than four children between the ages of

six and twelve. The average number of children per family

was 1.59. Families with one child between the ages of six

and twelve represented 53.3 percent of the sample, families

15

16

with two children, 33 percent, families with three children,

8.7 percent, and families with four children, 3 percent.

The number of family members varied from two to eight. The

average family consisted of four persons. The number of

television sets per home varied from one to five. Those

families possessing one television set consisted of 39.7

percent of the sample; 60.3 percent possessed two or more

sets. The average number of television sets per home v/as

two. Over a third of the respondents (37.5 percent) had a

high school education; 22 percent had attended at least two

years of college, and 19.7 percent had college degrees.

The percentage of those with an education range of grades

six through twelve was 3.7 percent, and 12.1 percent had

post graduate degrees. The occupation of the primary finan­

cial supporter of the family was divided into four cate­

gories: student (.8 percent), blue collar (39.8 percent),

white collar (33.7 percent), and professional (25.8 percent).

Descriptive Analysis

Family Communication Structures

The first six items of the survey concentrated on char­

acteristics of family communication structures. As shown in

Table 1, most respondents agreed that children should be

asked their opinion in family discussions (89.7 percent) and

that getting your idea across is important even though others

17

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do not like it (67 percent). There was least agreement with

the proposition that children should be exposed to and con­

sider both sides of an issue (27.2 percent).. Most respon­

dents disagreed with the statement that children should not

argue their point of view with those who are older and more

experienced (48.9 percent). Respondents generally agreed

with the statement that the best way for children to avoid

trouble is to keep away from it (50.8 percent). The respon­

dents generally disagreed v/ith the proposition that children

should pattern their ideas and values after those of their

parents (57.2 percent).

The combined mean scores of items one through six were

used as a basis for classifying respondents into the two

major family communication structures, concept-oriented and

socio-oriented. Those respondents classified as concept-

oriented, dealing with ideas and independent thinking, rep­

resented 53.8 percent of those surveyed. The respondents

classified as socio-oriented, more concerned with social

relations and conformity, represented 46.2 percent of the

sample.

Television Viewing Time

Table 2 represents daily parental and children tele­

vision viewing time, as estimated by the parent. Those

responses representing low daily television viewing

19

represented 31.5 percent of the parents and 18.2 percenr of

the children. Parental television viewing of two to three

hours per day was 54.9 percent. Children viewing television

two to three hours per day was 68.2 percent. A high degree

of daily television viewing takes place in 13.6 percent of

the parents and children. Table 2 also indicates that chil­

dren watch more television than their parents.

TABLE 2

AVERAGE DAILY TELEVISION VIEWING TIME

0-1 Hrs

Parent

Children

%

31.5

18.2

2-3 Hrs

o.

54.9

68.2

4+ Hrs

%

13.6

13.6

Parental Perceptions of Ill-Effects of Television

Table 3 shows responses to items measuring parental

perceptions of ill-effects of television on children. As

indicated by the percentages of responses, television does

seem to elicit high parental perceptions of ill-effects con­

cerning specific topics. Of interest is item 11 concerning

the educational value of commercial television. Negative

responses to this statement represented 8 0.3 percent of

those surveyed. The mean of item 14, concerning the statement

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that many television programs are too sexually oriented for

children six to twelve, was 2.636. This indicates a slight

agreement with this statement (13.5 percent strongly agreed,

43.8 percent agreed, 39.6 percent disagreed, and 3.25 percent

strongly disagreed). However, there was disagreement with

the proposition that most television programs are too vio­

lent for children six to twelve, the mean being 2.545. The

percentage of responses for this statement was 9.1 percent

strongly agreed, 40.5 percent agreed, 46.6 percent disagreed,

and 3.8 percent strongly disagreed.

The combined mean scores of items 9 through 14 repre­

sented parental perceptions of ill-effects of television on

their children. Results indicated that 20.5 percent of the

respondents can be classified as having low perceptions of

ill-effects of television. A significant percentage of re­

spondents can be classified as having a moderate level of

perceived ill-effects of television (71.6 percent). Eight

percent of the respondents had a high perception of television

ill-effects.

Parents were asked an open-ended question permitting

them to identify a specific television program considered

too violent or undesirable for children six to twelve. Sixty

percent of the respondents named the general category of

police stories as too violent or undesirable for their chil­

dren. Specific police stories mentioned were "Kojak,"

22

"S.W.A.T.," "Mannix," "Cannon," "The Rookies," "Hawaii

Five-O," and "Police Story." Succeeding police stories was

the general category of television movies (23.5 percent).

Other television programs mentioned were "Hot L Baltimore,"

"Cher," "All in the Family." "Maude," and "Night Stalker."

Parentental Restrictions of Children's Television Viewing

Items 16 through 19 m.easured parental restrictions of

children's television viev/ing (see Table 4). An examination

of the specific questions revealed that item 19 ("There are

particular programs I do not allow my children to watch")

produced the most agreement among the respondents (79.7 per­

cent) . The statem.ent "Children should have specific time

allowed for television viewing" elicited 56.1 percent agree­

ment from respondents. A majority of the respondents (89.9

percent) disagreed v/ith the proposition that children should

be allowed to watch television during mealtimes. Fifty-

eight percent of the respondents disagreed with the state­

ment that if a parent or child selects a program carefully,

it does not matter how much television the child watches.

Respondents were also asked about their adherence to

network program advisories. The response to this question

indicates a high level of agreement to the adherence. Almost

74 percent (73.9 percent) of the parents surveyed responded

with "Yes" when asked if they prevent their children from

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24

viewing a program on which an advisory has been run. Respvon-

dents were also asked about the delegation of restrictions on

television viewing in the family. The majority of the par­

ents surveyed agreed that the mother was the parent who most

frequently dealt v/ith restrictions on the children (67.8 per­

cent agreed, 7.7 percent scrongly agreed). Those respondents

who did not agree to this item varied between 23.4 percent

disagree and 1.1 percent strongly disagree.

For items 16 through 19, mean scores were combined to

arrive at an aggregate score for parental restrictions of

children's television viewing. Twenty-eight percent of the

respondents indicated a high level of parental restrictions.

Moderate parental restrictions represented 6 8.2 percent of

those surveyed, and low parental restrictions, 3.8 percent.

Family Communication Structures by Demographic Variables

As Table 5 indicates, the relationship of family commum-

ication structures and age of respondents was significant

2

(X = 12.69, p<.005). In the concept-oriented category, 49

percent of the respondents were between the ages of 21-29,

37 percent were between ages 30-39, and 14 percent were ages

40-52. In the socio-oriented category, 28 percent of the

respondents were between ages 21-29, 51 percent were between ages 30-39, and 21 percent were between ages 40-52. Thus

younger parents had a stronger tendency to_^e concept-

oriented.

25

TABLE 5

FAMILY COMMUNICATION STRUCTURES BY

Family Communication Structures

Conceptual

Socio

21-29

49%

28%

Age

30-39

37%

51%

AGE

40-52

14%

21%

>

X = 12.69, p<.005

There exists no significant relationship between family

communication structures and sex of the respondent (see

Table 6) . The conceptual family communication structure con­

sisted of 43.7 percent male, 56.3 percent female. The socio-

oriented family structure consisted of 50.8 percent male,

49.2 percent female.

TABLE 6

FAMILY COMMUNICATION STRUCTURES BY SEX

Family Communication Structures

Sex

Male Female

Conceptual

Socio

43.7%

50.8%

56.3%

49.2%

X = 1.528 N.S

26

An examination of Table 7 indicates the existence of a

significant relationship between family communication struc­

tures and the number of family members (X^ = 16.372, p<.01).

Concept-oriented families consisting of two to four members

was 74.7 percent. Sixty-eight percent of the socio-oriented

families consisted of two to four members. Thirty-two per­

cent of the socio-oriented structure consisted of five to

eight family members, as compared to 25.3 percent of the

concept-oriented category. Thus, large families tended to

be more socio-oriented than small families.

TABLE 7

FAMILY COMMUNICATION STRUCTURES BY NUMBER OF FAMILY MEMBERS

Family Number of Family Members Communication Structures 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Conceptual 4.9% 26.8% 43% 14% 7.8% 2.8% .7%

Socio .8% 31.1% 36.1% 19.7% 10.7% 1.6% 0%

X^ = 16.372, p<.01

No significant relationship was found to exist between

family communication structures and education (see Table 8).

Thirty-nine percent of the concept-oriented participants

possessed a high school education, 20.1 percent had a college

degree, 14.4 percent possessed post graduate degrees. In the

27

socio-oriented group, 35.5 percent possessed a high school

education, 19.1 percent had a college degree, and 9.1 per­

cent had post graduate degrees. Of the concept-oriented

participants, 6.4 percent had less than a high school educa­

tion. In the socio-oriented structure, 11.8 percent had

less than a high school education.

TABLE 8

FAMILY COMMUNICATION STRUCTURES BY EDUCATION

Family Communication Structures

Conceptual

Socio

2 X^ =-- 3. ,639

Grades 6-12

6.4%

11.8%

N.S.

High School

39%

35.5%

Education

2 Yrs. College

20.1%

24.5%

College Degree

20.1%

19.1%

Post Grad.

14.4%

9.1%

Occupation of the primary financial supporter of the

family and family communication structures were not signifi­

cantly related (see Table 9). Of the socio-oriented families,

42.6 percent were classified blue collar, 30.3 percent were

classified white collar, and 27.1 percent were classified as

professional. Concept-oriented families consisted of 1.4 per­

cent student, 37.3 percent blue collar, 36.6 percent white

collar, and 24.7 percent professional.

28

TABLE 9

FAMILY COMMUNICATION STRUCTURES BY OCCUPATION

Occupation

Conceptual 1.4

Socio 0%

37.3!

42.6%

36.6%

30.3'

X = 3.304 N.S

Family CoiTimunication Structures Student Blue Collar White Collar Prof.

24.7%

27.1

Parental Perceptions of Ill-Effects of Television by Demographic Variables

No significant relationship was found between parental

perceptions of television's ill-effects and the age of the

respondent (see Table 10). Those with the least level of

perceived ill-effects consisted of 46.3 percent ages 21-29,

48.2 percent ages 30-39, and 5.5 percent ages 40-52. Those

with m.oderate perceptions of ill-effects of television con­

sisted of 38.1 percent ages 21-29, 41.8 percent ages 30-39,

and 20.1 percent ages 40-52. Those parents with the highest

level of perceived ill-effects consisted of 28.6 percent

ages 21-29, 47.6 percent ages 30-39, and 23.8 percent ages

40-52.

Of those parents with low perceptions of ill-effects of

television, 51.9 percent were male, 48.1 percent were female.

Those with moderate levels of perceived ill-effects consisted

29

of 45.5 percent male, 54.5 percent female. Those parents

with the highest level of perceived ill-effects consisted

of 47.6 percent m.ale, 52.4 percent female. No significant

relationship was found to exist between parental perceptions

of television's ill-effects and sex of the respondent (see

Table 11).

TABLE 10

PARENTAL PERCEPTION OF ILL-EFFECTS BY AGE

Age

Perceptions 21-29 30-39 40-52

Low 46.3% 48.2% 5.5

Moderate 38.1% 41.8% 20.1

High 28.6% 47.6% 23.8

Q.

X^ = 6.714 N.S.

Table 12 indicates a nonsignificant relationship be­

tween parental perceptions of television's ill-effects and

number of children between the ages of six and twelve in

each family. Those parents v/ith one child in this age cate­

gory with the least level of perceptions consisted of 64.8

percent. Of those parents who had a moderate degree of

perceived ill-effects, 52.4 percent had only one child in

this age bracket. Of the parents with the highest degree

30

of perceived ill-effects, 57.2 percent.had one child in the

six to twelve age bracket.

TABLE 11

PARENTAL PERCEPTIONS OF ILL-EFFECTS BY SEX

Perceptions

Low

Moderate

High

Male

51.9%

45.5%

47.6%

Sex

Female

48.1%

54.5%

52.4%

X = 1.06 N.S.

TABLE 12

PARENTAL PERCEPTIONS OF ILL-EFFECTS BY NUMBER OF CHILDREN (6-12)

Perceptions

Number of Children

Low

Moderate

High

X^ = 8.745 N,

64.8%

52.4%

57.2%

.S.

18.5%

37%

33.3%

13%

7.4%

9.5%

3.7%

3.2

0%

31

The relationship of perceived ill-effects of television

on children by the parent respondent and the education level

of the respondent is significant (X - 23.92, p<.005), as

indicated in Table 13. Those parents with low perceptions

consisted of 33.3 percent high school educated, 22.2 percent

had college degrees, and 16.7 percent had post graduate de­

grees. Of those parents with a moderate level of percep­

tions, 35.9 percent had a high school education, 23.8 percent

had at least two years of college, and 21.2 percent had a

college degree. Although 61.9 percent of the parents with

the highest level of perceived ill-effects had a high school

education, no parent in this category possessed a college

degree level of education. Post graduate degrees were

possessed by 14.3 percent of the high perception partici­

pants. The high category for perceived ill-effects of tele­

vision had the highest percentage of participants with an

education level of grades six through twelve (14.3 percent).

Thus, it seems that the less education the parent had, the

more he perceived television to have ill-effects on children.

Table 14 indicates a significant relationship exists

between the occupation of the primary financial supporter of

the family and parental perceptions of ill-effects of tele-o

vision (X == 14.34 8, p<.025). The highest percentage of

each category of perceptions is the blue collar occupation

level: 20 percent, low perceptions of ill-effects; 65.7

32

TABLE 13

PARP^NTAL PERCEPTIONS OF ILL-EFFECTS BY EDUCATION

Perce

Low

Moder

High

ptions

ate

Grades 6-12

7.

8,

14,

.4%

.5%

High School

33.

35,

61,

.3%

.9%

.9%

Education

2 Yrs. College

20.4%

23.8%

9.5%

College Degree

22,

21,

99-

.2%

0%

Post Grad

16.

10.

14.

,7%

,6%

,3%

X = 23.92, p<.005

TABLE 14

PARENTAL PERCEPTIONS OF ILL-EFFECTS BY OCCUPATION

Occupation

Perceptions Student Blue Collar. White Collar Prof,

Low 0% 20 16.85 26.47%

Moderate 100% 65.7% 78.65% 70.58%

High 0% 14.3% 4.49% 2.94%

X = 14.348, p<.025

33

percent, moderate perceptions of ill-effects; and 14.3 per­

cent, high perceptions of ill-effects. This would indicar,e

that blue collar workers perceive the most ill-effects from

television; professional and white collar workers perceive

lower levels of ill-effects of television.

Parental Restrictions of Children's Television Viewing by Demographic Variables

Crosstabulation of parental restrictions of children's

television viewing and age of the respondents reveals the

existence of a significant relationship between the two

2

variables (X = 10.23, p<.01; see Table 15). Of those par­

ents betv/een the ages of 21-29, 77.7 percent exercised

moderate restrictions on their children's television viewing,

3.9 percent exercised low restrictions, and 18.4 percent

exercised high restrictions. Of those parents between the

ages of 30-39, 60 percent exercised moderate restrictions

on children's television viewing, 6.1 percent utilized low

restrictions, and 33.9 percent utilized high restrictions.

Of those parents between the ages of 40-52, none exercised

low restrictions on their children's television viewing.

Hov;ever, 67.4 percent exercised moderate restrictions and

32.6 percent exercised high restrictions on their children's

television viewing. Thus, although all three age categories

generally seem to exercise moderate restrictions on children's

television viewing, those exercising higher levels of re­

strictions are those in the older age brackets.

34

TABLE 15

PARENTAL RESTRICTIONS OF CHILDREN'S TELEVISION VIEWING BY AGE

Parental Restrictions

Age Low Moderate High

2 1 - 2 9 3.9% 77 .7% 18.4%

3 0 - 3 9 6 . 1 % 60.0% 33.9%

4 0 - 5 2 0% 67.4% 32.6%

X^ = 1 0 . 2 3 , p < . 0 1

No significant relationship was found to exist between

parental restrictions and sex of the respondents (see Ta­

ble 16). Those parents in the lowest category of parental

restrictions were 36.4 percent male, 63.6 percent female.

Those parents exercising moderate restrictions of children's

television viewing were 47.8 percent male and 52.2 percent

female. The highest category of parental restrictions con­

sisted of 46.6 percent male and 53.4 percent female.

Table 17 reveals no significant relationship exists

between parental restrictions and the number of children in

the family between the ages of six and twelve. Seventy-three

percent of those parents exercising low to moderate degrees

of restrictions had one to two children between the ages of

six and twelve in their family; 67.7 percent had three to

TABLE 16

PARENTAL RESTRICTIONS BY SEX

Restrictions

Low

Moderate

High

Sex

Male

36.4%

47.8%

46.6%

Female

63.6%

52.2%

53.4%

35

X = .438 N.S,

TABLE 17

PARENTAL RESTRICTIONS BY NUMBER OF CHILDREN

Number of Children

Restrictions

Low-Moderate High

1-2

3-4

73

67.7%

27%

32.3%

X = 4.62 N.S

36

four children in their home. Of those parents exercising

the highest level of restrictions on their children's

television viewing, 27 percent had one to two children,

32.3 percent had three to four children. Examination of

parental restrictions crosstabulated with the demographic

variables of number of family members, education level, and

occupation of the primary financial supporter of the family

also revealed no significant relationship exists between

these variables.

Family Communication Structures by Parental Perceptions of Ill-

Effects of Television

Results of the crosstabulation of family communication

structures and parental perceptions of ill-effects of tele­

vision revealed no significant relationship between the two

variables (see Table 18). The socio-oriented family communi­

cation structure and the concept-oriented family structure

both indicate maximum percentage of agreement in the moderate

parental perceptions category (concept-oriented, 68.3 percent;

socio-oriented, 75.4 percent). Only 9 percent of the socio-

oriented structure have high perceptions of ill-effects of

television, 7.1 percent of the concept-oriented structure

possess highly perceived ill-effects.

Although chi-square analysis indicates that the two

variables are independent, evidence of a significant linear

37

TABLE 18

FAMILY COMMUNICATION STRUCTURES BY PARENTAL PERCEPTIONS OF ILL-EFFECTS

Family Communication Structures

Conceptual

Socio

X^ = 2.905 N.S.

Low

24.6%

15.6%

Perceptions

Moderate

68.3%

75.4%

High

7.1%

9%

relationship is provided by correlational analysis (see

Table 26). The zero-order Pearsonian correlation between

family communication structures and parental ill-effects

of television is .285 (p<.001), indicating that concept-

oriented parents have less perceptions of television's ill-

effects than do socio-oriented parents. This trend can also

be discerned in Table 18, which shows that 24.6 percent of

concept-oriented parents had low perceptions of television's

ill-effects, compared to 15.6 percent of socio-oriented

parents.

Although the correlation between the two variables is

modest (r=.285), there is a high degree of certainty that a

linear relationship exists (p<.001). This is a more power­

ful test of the linear relationship between two variables than

the chi-square (which summ.arizes data) , and is therefore a

better indicator of concomittant variation (Blalock, 1972).

38

Ilgl^^y Communication Structures by Parental Restrictions of Children's

Television Viewing

An examination of the relationship between family com­

munication structures and parental restrictions of children's

television viewing indicates that there is a slight tendency

for socio-oriented families to impose moderate to high re­

strictions on children's television viev/ing (see Table 19).

For both conceptual and socio dimensions, parental restric­

tions exist to the largest degree in the moderate category

(65.5 percent of the concept-oriented, 71.3 percent of the

socio-oriented). Conceptual families utilizing low restric­

tions was 5.9 percent. Socio-oriented families utilizing

lev; restrictions was 3.3 percent. Conceptual families utiliz

ing high restrictions was 29.6 percent, and 25.4 percent of

the socio-oriented families utilized high restrictions.

TABLE 19

FAMILY COMMUNICATION STRUCTURES BY PARENTAL RESTRICTIONS

Family Comniunication Structures

Restrictions

Low Moderate High

Conceptual

Socio

5.9%

3.3%

65 .5%

7 1 . 3 %

29.6%

2 5 . 4 %

X^ = 1 .22 N . S

39

Although the chi-square value for the contingency table

relating these tv/o variables was not significant, correla­

tional analysis (see Table 26) provides evidence of a sig­

nificant negative linear relationship (r = -.1169, p<.02).

This implies that highly socio-oriented parents utilize a

higher level of restrictions on their children's television

viewing.

Family Communication Structures by Parent Television Viewing Time and by

Children's Television Viewing Time

Family communication structures and parental television

viewing time show no significant relationship when either

chi-square or correlational analysis is used (see Tables 20

and 26). Fifty-five percent of concept-oriented parents

view television on a daily average of two to three hours, as

do socio-oriented parents. Examination of Table 20 reveals

near duplicate percentages in each of the three daily view­

ing categories for both concept-oriented and socio-oriented

parents. Those watching an average of 0-1 hours of tele­

vision per day in the concept-oriented structure was 31.0

percent, in the socio-oriented structure, 32.0 percent.

Those watching four or more hours of television per day in

the socio structure was 13.0 percent of the participants.

Fourteen percent of the concept-oriented participants watch

four or more hours of television daily.

TABLE 20

40

FAMILY

Family Commun i c at i on Structures

Conceptual

Socio

COMMUNICATION TELEVISION

0-1 Hrs.

31%

32%

STRUCTURES BY VIEWING TIME

PARENT

Parent TV Viewing

2-3 Hrs.

55%

55%

4+ Hrs.

14%

13%

X^ = .15 N.S.

Akin to parental television viev/ing, children's tele­

vision viewing time does not show a significant relationship

to family communication structures (see Tables 21 and 26).

Table 21 indicates that 68 percent of the concept-oriented

structure and 69 percent of the socio-oriented structure

view television on a daily average of two to three hours.

Seventeen percent of the concept-oriented structure and

20 percent of the socio-oriented structure view television

one hour or less daily. Fifteen percent of the concept-

oriented structure and 11 percent of the socio-oriented

structure view television four or more hours per day.

41

TABLE 21

FAMILY COMMUNICATION STRUCTURES BY CHILDREN'S TELEVISION VIEWING TIME

Family

Structures

Conceptual

Socio

X^ = 1.357

Parent Tel

Children's TV Viewing

0-1 Hrs. 2-3 Hrs. 4-1- Hrs.

17% 68% 15%

20% 69% 11%

N.S.

evision Viewing Time and Children's Television Viewing Time

A significant linear relationship exists between parent

television viewing time and children's television viewing

time (r = .248, p<.001; see Table 26). This supports find­

ings from previous studies that some form of "modeling"

exists between the parent television viewing time and the

children's television viewing time. No significant linear

relationship exists between children's television viewing

and the other variables.

A significant negative linear relationship exists be­

tween parental perceptions of ill-effects of television and

parent television viewing time (r= -.1244, p<.022; see

Table 26). This indicates the higher level of perceived

ill-effects elicits less television viewing time by the

parent.

42

Parental Perceptions of Ill-Effects of Television by Parental Restrictions of Children's

Television Viewing

Crosstabulation of parental perceptions of television's

ill-effects and parental restrictions of children's tele­

vision viev/ing indicates a slight tendency for parents with

high perceptions of ill-effects to exercise the higher levels

of restrictions on their children's television viewing (see

Tables 22 and 26). The largest percentage of low parental

perceptions utilize low to moderate restrictions on their

children's television viewing (75.9 percent), as do parents

of moderate perceptions (73.5 percent) and parents of high

perceptions (52.4 percent). Of those parents who perceive

the highest ill-effects of television, 46.6 percent utilize

the most restrictions on their children's television view­

ing. This is a higher percentage than parents with low or

moderate levels of perceptions and is in accord with pre­

dictions. No parents with high perceptions of television's

ill-effects incorporated low restrictions. Those parents

with the lowest level of perceived ill-effects show 24.1

percent incorporate high level of restrictions on their

children's television viewing, as do parents of the moderate

perception category, 26.5 percent.

The correlation between the two variables is .1698

(p<.003), suggesting that there is a positive linear rela­

tionship. Parents who have higher perceptions of ill-effects

4 3

of television on their children tend to impose m.ore restric­

tions on them.

TABLE 22

PARENTAL PERCEPTIONS OF ILL-EFFECTS BY PARENTAL RESTRICTIONS OF CHILDREN'S TELEVISION VIEWING

Restrictions

Perceptions Low-Moderate High

Low 75.9% 24.1%

Moderate 73.5% 26.5%

High 52.4% 46.6%

X^ = 4.34 3 N.S.

Note: Low and moderate categories were combined be­cause of low frequencies in low restriction category.

Adherence to Program Advisories by Family Communication Structures, Parental Perceptions of Ill-Effects, and

Parental Restrictions of Children's Television Viewing

Crosstabulation of family communication structures and

variable 19, adherence to network program advisories, revealed 2

that a significant relationship does exist (X =6.47, p<.01).

Table 23 indicates that of the concept-oriented parents, 66.2

percent responded negatively to the adherence, 33.8 percent

responded positively. Of the socio-oriented parents, 49.2

responded negatively, 50.8 responded positively. Thus, it

44

seems that concept-oriented families tend to adhere less to

the program advisories than do the socio-oriented families.

TABLE 23

ADHERENCE TO PROGRAM ADVISORIES BY FAMILY COMMUNICATION STRUCTURES

Family Communication Structures

Conceptual

Socio

Adherence to Advisories

No

66.2%

49.2

Yes

33.8

50.8%

X = 6.47, p<.01

Table 24 indicates no significant relationship was

. • ^ -

found between the adherence to program advisories and

parental perceptions of ill-effects of television. Of those

parents v/ho perceived low ill-effects of television, 36.5

percent responded negatively, 63.5 percent responded posi­

tively- Of those parents having moderate levels of perceived

ill-effects, 24.5 percent responded negatively, 75.5 percent

responded positively. Of those parents with the highest per

ceptions of ill-effects of television, 4.3 percent responded

negatively to the adherence, 85.7 responded positively. Al­

though no significance was found, there v/as an obvious ten­

dency for parents with higher perceptions of television ill-

effects to adhere more to the advisory.

45

TABLE 24

ADHERENCE TO PROGRAM ADVISORIES BY PARENTAL PERCEPTIONS OF ILL-EFFECTS

Adherence to Advisories

Perceptions

Low

Moderate

High

No

36.5%

24.5%

14.3%

Yes

63.5'

75.5%

85.7%

X = 4.353 N.S

Crosstabulation of adherence to program advisories and

parental restrictions of children's television viewing re­

vealed that a significant relationship does exist between

the two variables (X = 6.388, p<.05; see Table 25). Of

those parents exercising low restrictions, 60 percent re­

sponded negatively to the adherence, 4 0 percent responded

positively. Of those parents exercising moderate levels of

restrictions, 24.9 percent responded negatively to the ad­

herence, 75.1 percent responded positively. Of those

parents exercising the highest degree of restrictions, 23.3

percent responded negatively to the adherence, 76.7 percent

responded positively. Thus, those parents exercising moder­

ate to high levels of restrictions of children's television

viewing tend to adhere more to the advisory.

46

TABLE 25

ADHERENCE TO PROGRAM ADVISORIES BY PARENTAL RESTRICTIONS

Adherence to Advisories

Restrictions No Yes

Low

Moderate

High

60%

24.9%

23.3%

40

75.1%

76.7

X = 6.388, p<.05

47

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CHAPTER IV

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Summary of Objectives

This study was conducted to analyze the relationships

among family communication structures, parental perceptions

of ill-effects of television, parental restrictions of

children's television viewing, and family television view­

ing time. The study sought to determine which family

structure utilized more parental restrictions of their

children's television viewing, and in which family struc­

ture lower utilization of television could be found. Rela­

tive to parental restrictions, the study was to analyze

the effectiveness of the program advisories self-imposed

by the television industry. Generally, the study was done

to provide deeper insight into the interaction of television

and family communication.

Summary of Methodology

A questionnaire was used as the information instrument.

Administration of the questionnaire was conducted by tele­

phone. The telephone survey was conducted on a simple

random sample of 264 parents with at least one child between

the ages of six and tv/elve in their family. The variables

measured in the survey were the classification of each

48

t I'

49

family into a two dimensional structure of family communica­

tion, parental restrictions of children's television viewing,

parental perceptions of ill-effects evolving from television,

and parent-child television viewing time averages. The two

dimensions of family communication as defined by previous

studies were socio-oriented and concept-oriented. The socio-

oriented structure emphasizes social harmony and conformity.

The concept-oriented structure emphasizes independent think­

ing and exposure to all sides of an issue. Other variables

measured were the parental adherence to program advisories

run by the television industry, and various demographic in­

formation (age of respondent, sex, education, occupation,

fam.ily size, and number of functioning television sets in the

home).

The questionnaire was basically a combination of closed

questions and open-ended questions, weighted and measured ac­

cording to a Likert scale of measure. Mean scores from com­

bined items in the questionnaire provided measures for cate­

gories of each variable.

Summary of Data

The conceptual family consisted of 53.8 percent of the

parents surveyed; 46.2 percent of the sample was classified

as socio-oriented. Concerning parental perceptions of

television's ill-effects, a m.ajority of the parents did not

feel that commercial television is of educational value.

50

Most perceived (57.3%) many television programs as too sexu­

ally oriented for their children aged six to twelve, yet

many disagreed (50.4%) that there were too many violent

television programs. Sixty percent of the parents respond­

ing to the question which called for their opinion of a

television show considered too violent or undesirable for

children aged six to twelve named the general category of

police stories. Parents who perceived moderate ill-effects

of television consisted of 71.6 percent of those surveyed.

Concerning parental restrictions of children's televi­

sion viewing, 68.2 percent of the parents exercise moderate i I

restrictions of their children's television viewing, 28 per-i

cent exercise high restrictions. A majority of the parents i

(73.9 percent) said that they do adhere to program adviso-I

I

ries run before specific television programs. However, con- j i

cerning parent-child television viewing time, children J : ;

tended to view more television than did parents.

Significant Relationships

Age of respondent and family communication structures

were found to be significantly related. The younger parent

had a tendency to be more concept-oriented. Family communi­

cation structures and number of family members was also

significantly related. The larger families tended to be

more socio-oriented. Family communication structures and

51

sex, educ^ation, and occupation of the primary financial

supporter of the family were not significantly related.

Parental perceptions of television's ill-effects and

the education level of the respondent were significantly

related, as were parental perceptions and occupation of the

primary financial supporter of the family. The lower edu­

cated parent had higher perceptions of television's ill-

effects. The blue collar classification had higher levels

of perceived ill-effects than white collar or professional.

Family communication structures and parental perceptions

of ill-effects were significantly related. The concept-

ori.ented parents seem, to have lower perceptions of ill-

effects evolving from television. Mothers of children be­

tween the ages of six and twelve had higher levels of per­

ceived ill-effects than did the fathers. This supports

earlier research of parental perceptions of television's

ill-effects. Hess and Goldman (1962) and Roberts and Baird

(1971) revealed that mothers do have perceptions of tele­

vision's ill-effects as related to children's dreams and

fears.

Parental perceptions and age of the respondent were

not found to be significantly related. Sex and parental

perceptions also revealed no significant relationship. The

number of children between ages six and twelve in the family

and parental perceptions of television's ill-effects were

not significantly related.

52

Restrictions of children's television viewing and sex

of the respondent were not related. Restrictions and number

of children between six and twelve years of age in the family

also were not related. However, restrictions of children's

television viewing and age of the respondent were signifi­

cantly related. The higher levels of restrictions were

exercised by those parents in the older age brackets. The

older parent tended to be more restrictive. In comparison,

to family communication structures, the older parent seemed

to be more socio-oriented. Thus, socio-oriented parents

impose more restrictions on their children's television

viewing. This was found to be significant when family com­

munication structures was related to parental restrictions.

The existence of this significant relationship supports the

results of studies done by Chaffee and McLeod (1972) in

which they revealed more parental restrictions can be ob­

served in socio-oriented homes. Relating to socio-oriented

homes, as previously stated, concept-oriented parents tended

to have lower perceptions of television's ill-effects, imply­

ing that socio-oriented parents perceive more ill-effects

evolving from television. Parental restrictions of chil­

dren's television viewing and parental perceptions of tele­

vision's ill-effects were significantly related. Parents who

have higher perceptions of ill-effects of television (socio-

oriented) impose m.ore restrictions on their children's tele­

vision viewing.

53

Parent television viewing time and children's television

viewing time were significantly related. This sapports find­

ings from previous research concerning the existence of a

certain amount of "modeling" between the parent television

viewing and the child's television viewing (Chaffee and

McLeod, 1972). Previous studies have shown that there is a

tendency for greater television use in socio-oriented homes

by both the parent and the child (Chaffee, McLeod, and Atkin,

1971). However, this study found no significant relationship

existed between family communication structures and parent-

child television viewing time. A significant negative rela­

tionship existed between parental television viewing time

and parental perceptions of television's ill-effects. Higher

perceptions of ill-effects elicit less television viewing.

A significant relationship existed between the adherence

to the program advisories and family communication structures

Socio-oriented parents adhere to the advisories more than

concept-oriented parents. This supports previous relation­

ships found significant in this study concerning socio-

oriented parents and parental restrictions and perceptions

of television. This relationship also supports previous

studies which reveal that socio-oriented persons tend to

yield more to persuasive messages (Stone and Chaffee, 1970),

A significant relationship was also found to exist between

parental restrictions of children's television viewing and

54

adherence to the program advisories. Those parents exercis­

ing moderate to high levels of restrictions on their chil­

dren's television viewing adhered more to the program

advisories than those parents exercising low restrictions.

Conclusions

There were more concept-oriented parents found in the

survey than socio-oriented (53.8 percent, concept-oriented,

46.2 percent, socio-oriented). Socio-oriented parents tended

to have higher levels of perceived ill-effects of television.

Moderate to high perceptions of ill-effects of television

were jjerceived by 84.4 percent of the socio-oriented

parents, as compared to 75.4 percent of the concept-oriented

parents. Socio-oriented parents exercise more parental re­

strictions of children's television viewing. Of the socio-

oriented parents, 96.7 percent exercised moderate to high

restrictions on their children's television viewing. Of the

concept-oriented parents, 95.1 percent exercised moderate to

high restrictions. Parents revealed more concern with

sexually-oriented programs than with programs containing a

significant degree of violence. However, police stories were

the most mentioned category of television programs considered

too violent or undesirable for children ages six to twelve.

Restrictions of children's television viewing and per­

ceived ill-effects of television react together to produce

55

more restrictions based on higher perceptions of ill-effects.

Of those parents with high perceptions of ill-effects, 46.6

percent exercised high restrictions on their children's

television viewing. Of those parents with moderate per­

ceptions of ill-effects, only 25.6 percent exercised high

restrictions; 2 4.1 percent of parents with low perceptions

exercised high restrictions. The mother delegates restric­

tions on children's television viewing more than the father

(75.5 percent agreed with this proposition).

Although children watch more television than their

parents, in both concept-oriented homes and socio-oriented

homes, parent and child television viewing is linearly re­

lated (r = .284, p<.001). The less time a parent spends

viewing television, the less time a child viev/s television,

and vice versa. A significant negative correlation between

parental perceptions of television's ill-effects and parent

television viewing time suggests that higher perceptions of

television's ill-effects elicit less television viewing by

the parent.

A significant portion of the parents surveyed do adhere

to program advisories (73.9 percent) incorporated by the

television industry. Socio-oriented parents adhere to the

advisories more than concept-oriented parents (socio-oriented,

50.8 percent; concept-oriented, 33.8 percent). Parents exer­

cising lov7er restrictions on their children's television

viewing adhere less to the advisories. Forty percent of

56

parents exercising low restrictions adhere to the advisories,

75.1 percent of parents exercising moderate restrictions

adhere to the advisories, and 76.7 percent of parents exer­

cising high restrictions adhere to the advisories.

Education and occupation of the parent are significant

factors in the parent's perceptions of television. Those

parents with less education perceived more ill-effects

evolving from television. Blue collar occupation category

possessed higher perceptions of television's ill-effects

(14.3 percent) than did white collar (4.49 percent) or pro­

fessional (2.94 percent). Age of the parent is significant

in the structure of the family comraunications and in the

restrictions placed on children's television viewing. The

older parent tended to be more socio-oriented and more

restrictive. The size of the family is significant in

family communication structures. Larger families tended

to be more socio-oriented.

In general, the concept-oriented family is smaller in

size, and the conceptual parent tends to be younger. Of

those parents surveyed, 14 percent of the concept-oriented

category v/ere between ages 40-52, 21 percent of the socio-

oriented category were between ages 40-52. The concept-

oriented parent is less restrictive with children's tele­

vision viewing and perceives less ill-effects evolving from

television.

57

gecomme nd a t i on s

£^QI-^J-J!gJ-^^vision Industrv

The television industry might consider the implications

of this study in terms of characteristics of the parents most

likely to impose restrictions on their children's television

viewing. According to this study, the program advisories

tend to be effective and most probably appreciated by the

parent. Relating the conclusions of this study to the self-

imposed family viewing hour of the television industry, the

socio-oriented parent would seem to be more responsible in

screening children's television viewing after 9:00 p.m.

each evening. However, according to the percentages in

this study, there are more concept-oriented families than

socio-oriented families. This implies less restrictions

will evolve from, the individual famdly in controlling chil­

dren's television viewing.

The television industry might also observe the tele­

vision programs considered by the parents to be undesirable

for their children ages six to twelve. This would be of

benefit in scheduling programs for family viewing.

For Further Research

A need exists to more exactly determine the role and

value of television in the family context. Further study

should examine the characteristics of the two dimensions of

58

family communications more intensely in terms of their atti­

tude towards the television industry's self-imposed regula­

tions. More definitive measures for the four patterns

included in the two dimensions of family communication

structures would provide more information which could be

applied to further study of the interaction of television

regulations and family communication. Additional information

and study of the socio-oriented family structure would pro­

vide a better explanation of higher perceptions of ill-

effects of television and higher restrictions of children's

television viewing found more in socio-oriented families.

This study should be tested in different geographic

locations. The research of this study only relates informa­

tion of the communication structures found in families in

Lubbock, Texas.

More research into the influence of demographic vari­

ables would provide insight into better understanding the

relationship of communication structures and perceptions

and restrictions of parents and fam.ily in relation to tele­

vision viev7ing. The significance of age, education, and

occupation on communication structures, perceptions, and

restrictions of the parents should be studied further and

applied to other media as well.

Parental perceptions of television's ill-effects need

to be further examined to determine the basis of the

59

perceptions. Does more or less exposure to television

elicit higher perceptions of television's ill-effects?

Further research into the relationship of parental percep­

tions and restrictions of television should be done and

related to television regulations.

Further research should be done concerning children and

their perceptions of television regulations. Additional in­

formation from further research would provide findings in

determining the interaction of the parent and child over

program content. This would aid in determining more effec­

tive means of television program regulations.

( (

REFERENCES

Backstrom,C. H. & Hursh, G. D. Survey research. Evanston, 111.: Northwestern University Press, 1963.

Blalock, H. M. Social statistics. New York: McGraw-Hill, 19/2. — '

haffee, S. H., & McLeod, J. M. Adolescent television use in the family context. Television and Social Behavior-A Technical Report to the Surgeon General'^i's'ai'^ntific Myj-sory Committee on Television and Social Behavior,"

Chaffee, S. H. , McLeod, J. M. , & Atkin, C. K. Parental influence on adolescent media use. American Behavioral Scientist, 1971, 14, 323-340. ~

Chaffee, S. H. , McLeod, J. M. , & Wackman, D. B. Family com­munication patterns and adolescent political participa­tion. In J. Dennis (Ed.), Socialization to politics: A reader. New York: Wiley, 1971.

Kess, R. D., & Goldman, H. Parent's views of the effects of television on their children. Child Development, 1962, 33, 411-426.

Liebert, R. M., Neale, J. M. , & Davidson, E. S. The early window: Effects of television on children and youth. New York: Pergamon Press, Inc., 1973.

LoSciuto, L. A national inventory of television viewing be­havior . Television and Social Behavior—A Technical Report to the Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on_ Television and Social Behavior, 1972, 4, 33-87. • "

Lubbock City Directory, 1974. Dallas: R. L. Polk and Co., 1974.

Lyle, J. Television in daily life: Patterns of use (over­view) . Television and Social Behavior—A Technical Report to the Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior, 1972, 4, 1-32.

60

61

Lyle, J., c Hoffman, H. Children's use of television and other media. Television and Social Behavior—A Tech-^ ^ 2—gg.22, J__ Q the Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Comm.ittee on Television and Social Behavior, 1972, 4, 129-256. ~~

Roberts, J., & Baird, J. T. Parent ratings of behavior pat­terns of children in the United States. Vital and Health Statistics, National Center for Health Statis­tics, Series No. 108, PHS No. 1000.

Schramm, W. , Lyle, J., & Parker, E. B. Television in the lives of our children. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1961.

Snow, R. P. How children interpret t.v. violence in play context. Journalism Quarterly, 1974, 51, 13-19.

Stein, A. , & Friedrich, L. Television content and young children's behavior. Television and Social Behavior--A Technical Report to the Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior, 1972, 2, 202-317.

Stone, V. A. Individual differences and inoculation against persuasion. Journalism Quarterly, 1969, 46, 267-273.

Stone, V. A. , & Chaffee, S. H. Family communication patterns and source-message communication. Journalism Quarterly, 1970, 47, 239-246.

U.S. Bureau of the Census, Statistical abstract of the United States: 1974 (95th ed.), Washington, D.C., 1974.

Wholesomeness to be the rule at 7-9 p.m. Broadcasting, Febru­ary 10, 1975, pp. 31-34.

61

APPENDIX

A. Family Viewing Television Code

B. Questionnaire

62

63

APPENDIX A: FAMILY VIEWING TELEVISION CODE

The following is the "family viev/ing" television code

adopted by the National Association of Broadcasters tele­

vision code review board:

The 'family viewing' standard. Following is the language that the National Association of Broad­casters television code review board has recom­mended for insertion in the code at the end of the section headed "Principles Governing Program Content":

"Additionally, entertainment programing inap­propriate for viewing by a general family audience should not be broadcast during the first hour of network entertainment programing in prime time and in the immediately preceding hour. In the occa­sional case when an entertainment program, in this time period is deemed to be inappropriate for such an audience, advisories should be used to alert viev/ers. Advisories should also be used when pro­grams in later prime-time periods contain material that might be disturbing to significant segments of the audience.

"These advisories should be presented in audio and video form at the beginning of the program and when deemed appropriate at a later point in the program. Advisories should also be used respon­sibly in promotional material in advance of the program. When using an advisory, the broadcaster should attem.pt to notify publishers of television program listings."

64

APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE

The following is a questionnaire for a survey concerning :^glgX^J.Qn viewing and children in your family. We would appreciate your honest response to'the questions. Your name will not be recorded; please do not include it on the questionnaire. Thank you for your tim.e in taking part in this survey. (In answering the questions concerning children, please remember we are only concerned with ages 6-12.)

In guiding your children, please indicate your feelings on the following statements:

1. Children should not argue their point of view with those who are older and more experienced.

a. strongly agree c. disagree b. agree d. strongly disagree

2. The best way for children to avoid trouble is to keep away from it

a. strongly agree c. disagree b. agree d. strongly disagree

3. Children should be exposed to and consider both sides of an issue.

a. strongly agree c. disagree b. agree d. strongly disagree

4. Children should pattern their ideas and values after those of their parents.

a. strongly agree c. disagree b. agree d. strongly disagree

5. Children should be asked their opinion in family dis­cussions.

a. strongly agree c. disagree b. agree d. strongly disagree

6. Getting your idea across is important even if others do not like it.

a. strongly agree c. disagree b. agree d. strongly disagree

65

Television viewing time:

7. Daily parent TV viewing time (Check appropriate cate-

0-1 hr. 2-3 hrs. 4-f hrs.

8. Daily c h i l d r e n ' s (ages 6-12) TV viev7ing time-^ during school year

0-1 h r . 2-3 h r s . 4-f- h r s .

Indicate your feelings on the following statements:

9. Television opens the world to the child.

a. strongly agree c. disagree b. agree d. strongly disagree

10. Children sometimes get nightmares from television pro­grams.

a. strongly agree c. disagree

b. agree d. strongly disagree

11. Television is an educational influence.

a. strongly agree c. disagree b. agree d. strongly disagree

12. Television is responsible for children's behavior prob­lems.

a. strongly agree c. disagree b. agree d. strongly disagree

13. Most television programs are too violent for children up to twelve years of age.

a. strongly agree c. disagree b. agree d. strongly disagree

14. Many TV programs are too sexually-oriented for my children 6-12 years old.

a. strongly agree c. disagree b. agree d. strongly disagree

66

15. A television program I consider too violent or unde­sirable for my children (6-12 years old) is

16. Children should have specific time allowed for TV view­ing.

a. strongly agree b. agree

c. disagree d. strongly disagree

17. Children should be allowed to watch television during mealtimes.

a. strongly agree b. agree

c. disagree d. strongly disagree

18. If a parent or child selects a program carefully, it does not matter how much television the child watches

a. strongly agree b. agree

c. disagree d. strongly disagree

19. There are particular programs I do not allow my children to watch.

a. strongly agree b. agree

c. disagree d. strongly disagree

20. I prevent my children from viewing a television program on which a warning of subject matter has been run.

YES NO

21. Generally, the mother is the parent who places the mcDst restraint on children's television viewing in my family

a. strongly agree b. agree

c. disagree d. strongly disagree

22. Age of respondent:

23. Sex: M F

24. Number of children between the ages of six and twelve in your home_

25. Number of family members now residing in your home

26. Number of operating television sets in your home

67

27. Education (Check the appropriate category according to most recent)

a. Grades 6-12 b. High school diploma ^ZI c. 2 yrs. of college d. College degree e. Post graduate degree

28. Occupation of primary financial supporter of your family