Aggression and Violent Behavior, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 13–28, 1999 Copyright  1998 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 1359-1789/99/$–see front matter PII S1359-1789(97)00048-7 FILM VIOLENCE AND YOUNG OFFENDERS Amanda E. Pennell and Kevin D. Browne School of Psychology, University of Birmingham and Glenthorne Youth Treatment Centre, Birmingham ABSTRACT. Recent assertions have been made that viewing violent material on film and video may influence children and adolescents who commit violent acts. It has also been proposed that heavy exposure to television violence in childhood is associated with violent crime as an adult, although others have emphasized that experiencing “real” violence as a child has a much greater effect on aggressive predispositions. Ways in which screen violence can effect behavior includes: imitation of violent roles and acts of aggression, triggering aggressive impulses in predisposed individuals, desensitizing feelings of sympathy towards victims, creating an indifference to the use of violence, and creating a frame of mind that sees violent acts as a socially acceptable response to stress and frustration. It is argued that young offenders may like violent videos because of their aggressive background and behavioral tendencies. Whether such tastes reinforce violent behavior and increase the frequency of aggressive acts and antisocial behavior is open to question. This question needs an urgent answer given the availability of violent video film either to be viewed in the home environment appropriately (i.e., the whole film in real time) or inappropriately (i.e., from one violent scene to the next viewed in slow motion and freeze-frame).  1998 Elsevier Science Ltd KEY WORDS. Film effects, viewing violence, young offenders, aggressive behavior OVER THE PAST 3 years, the debate as to whether violence in the media has a damaging impact on its audience has once again come to the forefront of people’s minds. Certain events have again generated an academic and clinical interest in the effects of viewing violent imagery. One event was the release of Oliver Stone’s film “Natural Born Killers” (“NBK”) in 1995. Despite the film being screened all around the Western World without a second thought, it was delayed in the UK for 3 months. This delay was due to “much moral debate while the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) investigated claims that it had inspired copy killings” (Petre, 1995; Sunday Telegraph, February 26). The BBFC, as the board responsible for classifying, cutting, and in some cases, banning cinema and video films (since the UK Video Recordings Act, 1984), were investigating the reported Correspondence should be addressed to Amanda Pennell, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. 13