The Implications of Vantage Point in Parental Mediation of Television and Child's Attitudes Toward Drinking Alcohol

A survey of 273 children in grades 3, 6, and 9, and their parents investigated parental mediation effects on a child's message interpretation process both from a child's and from a parent's perspective. The study found that children's reports of positive mediation (parental reinforcement of media messages) were significantly higher than parents' reports. Parents and children agreed more closely on reports of negative mediation (counter-reinforcement of media messages). Only the children's reports predicted variables influencing their decision-making for drinking alcohol. The results suggest that children's reports are probably more useful than parents' reports for predicting a child's cognition and behavior.