The presence and portrayal of social groups on prime‐time television

This paper describes a content analysis of the presence and portrayal of age, sex and ethnic groups in all prime‐time dramas and comedies from the major networks in 1999. Older adult, child, female, and Latino characters were underrepresented, whereas middle‐aged, male, and white characters were overrepresented. No group differences were found in terms of whether the characters were shown in major or minor roles. A measure incorporating assessments of attractiveness, quality of dress, personality, and story function revealed that older characters, males, and Latino characters were portrayed somewhat less positively than others. Results are discussed in terms of socialization processes and intergroup theory.