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females exhibiting more fear than males. Females’ responses were more
intense than those of males for all dependent measures. However, the
effect sizes were largest for self-report and behavioral measures (those
that are under the most conscious control) and smallest for heart rate and
facial expressions. In addition, the effect size for gender differences
increased with age.
Peck (1999) also conducted an experiment in which male and female
college students were exposed to two scenes from the Nightmare on Elm
Street series of movies, one featuring a male victim and the other featuring
a female victim. She found that women’s self-reports of fear were more
intense than those of males, especially when the victim was female. How-
ever, when the victim was male, certain of the responses (pulse amplitude
and hemispheric asymmetry) suggested that men were experiencing
more intense physiological reactions than women.
Although more research is needed to explore the extent of gender differ-
ences in media-induced fear and the factors that contribute to them, these
findings suggest that the size of the gender difference may be partially a
function of social pressures to conform to gender-appropriate behavior.

Gender Differences in Coping Strategies

There is some evidence of gender differences in the coping strategies
used to counteract media-induced fear, and these gender differences
may also reflect gender-role socialization pressures. Hoffner (1995)
found that adolescent girls reported using more noncognitive coping
strategies than boys did, but that there were no gender differences in the
use of cognitive strategies. Similarly Valkenburg et al. (2000) found that
among 7- to 12-year-old Dutch children, girls reported resorting to social
support, physical intervention, and escape more often than boys did,
but that there was no gender difference in the use of cognitive reassur-
ance as a coping strategy.
Both of these findings are consistent with Hoffner’s (1995) explanation
that because boys are less willing than girls to show their emotions, they
avoid noncognitive strategies, which are usually apparent to others. In
contrast, the two genders employ cognitive strategies with equal fre-
quency because these strategies are less readily observable.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

In summary, research shows that children often experience anxiety and
distress while watching mass media presentations and that these feelings,
in varying intensities, often linger after exposure. Recent surveys demon-