Television and the behaviour of adolescents: Does socio-economic status moderate the link?

This paper examines the relationship between adolescent behaviour, television viewing and family socio-economic status (SES) using the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY). The effect of television viewing on adolescents’ behaviour, ranging from pro-social to aggressive, and whether this effect is moderated by family socio-economic status is investigated. An adolescent fixed effects model is used to estimate the effect of television viewing on behaviour. The results indicate that the effect of television viewing varies between males and females. Family SES has a role in the effect of television on adolescents’ behaviour, although the results do not distinguish between the two proposed hypotheses.