YOUTHS EXPOSURE TO MEDIA VIOLENCE: GENDER DIFFERENCES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL–BEING 

YOUTHS EXPOSURE TO MEDIA VIOLENCE: GENDER DIFFERENCES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL–BEING 

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to determine the gender difference on youth exposure to media violence and their psychological well-being. A four part questionnaire was used for this study to obtain the responses of the youths aged between 15 and 25 years drawn from the NnamdiAzikiwe University, Awka. SPSS software tool was used for the statistics which sort for the means, percentages, t-test, Pearson’s correlation and Chi-squared results.  One hundred (100) participants were used in the study. The study was guided by four research questions and four null hypotheses. The data analysis showed that most of the respondents “never” watched all the violent movies listed. More youths wished everyone who had a gun would keep it (mean = 3.25). pearson’s correlation showed exposure to media violence has negative effect on the psychological well-being of the youth. The difference between the beliefs of male and female youths on the use of guns was significant thus rejecting the null hypothesis. Significant difference was obtained between the perception of male and female youth on media violence, thus the null hypothesis was rejected. It was also found that there was no significant difference between the psychological well-being of male and female youths therefore accepting the null hypothesis. There is no doubt that media violence affects both male and female youth. It is recommended that the youth should be counseled against watching violent shows in the media.