Research Wrap-Up: Recently Published Studies-January 8

Here is a list of recently published studies on children, media, and health which explore a range of topics:

Kafai, Y.B. (2010). World of Whyville: Introduction to tween virtual life. Games and Culture, 5(1), 3-22.

• This paper explores the virtual world, Whyville.net, which at the time of the study hosted over 1.2 million players ages 8 to16 years.

Lubetzky, R.; Mimouni, F.B.; Dollberg, S.; Reifen, R.; Ashbel, G.; Mandel, G.D. (2010). Effect of music by Mozart on energy expenditure in growing preterm infants. Pediatrics, 125(1): e24-e28.

• This study tests the hypothesis that music by Mozart reduces resting energy expenditure (REE) in growing healthy preterm infants.

Schoenfeld, E.R.; Ng, P.; Henderson, K. & Wu, S-Y (2010) Using the Internet to educate adolescents about osteoporosis: Application of a tailored web-education system. Health Promot Pract., 11(1),  104-111.

• This article describes the development and pilot testing of an online system to educate high school students grades 9—12 about osteoporosis; an age where positive health changes could have long lasting effects.

Sharif, I.; Wills, T.A.; &  Sargent, J.D. (2010). Effect of visual media use on school performance: A prospective study. Journal of Adolescent Health, 46(1), 52-61.

• To identify mechanisms for the impact of visual media use on adolescents' school performance.

Tickle, J.J., Michael L. Beach, M.L. & Dalton, M.A. (2009). Tobacco, alcohol, and other risk behaviors in film: How well do MPAA Ratings distinguish content? Journal of Health Communication, 14(8), 756-767.

• To evaluate the usefulness of Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) ratings for parental selection of appropriate films for children.

Use the free CMCH Database of Research to find other studies on children, media, and health.