Experiencing fear in front of the screen is a common phenomenon in childhood, and a focus of public concern. Yet, research has encountered ethical and methodological challenges and has focused largely on the effects of watching disturbing news. In this innovative book, this universal experience is investigated in depth via two complementary studies:

1) a retrospective study of experiences related by 626 undergraduate students from eight countries; and 2) a study of the current nightmares induced by watching television of 510 children in five countries.

The results presented in this book highlight the most common elements of fear in front of the screen more generally, followed by a focused analysis of the unique features of fear that characterize different developmental stages: pre-school, middle childhood, pre-teens and teenagers. The rich descriptions distinguish between the negative experiences of fear versus the positive experiences of thrill, and explores gender and cultural differences. Finally, the book offers implications for media producers and policy makers as well as for parents and educators.

Fear in Front of the Screenprovides the results of two scientifically rigorous research studies providing an in-depth understanding of children and adolescent media-induced fear reactions across the globe. This book would be an excellent addition to the reading list of any graduate-level course on children and media. It would also serve as a useful text for undergraduate students taking courses on media effects, broadly speaking, or children and media, in particular. Parents may also find this book useful, as the presentation of results are clear and accessible to a wide variety of audiences, and the concluding chapter provides a clear set of guidelines on how to support children. Finally, scholars exploring children’s media-induced fear responses – or, children and emotion more broadly – would be well-served by reading and citing this book. * Journal of Children and Media *
Fear in Front of the Screen is a comprehensive review of both the literature on media induced fear in childhood as well as a report of original cross-cultural research with children and adolescents. The authors adopt a developmental approach to what elicits fear reactions to media portrayals at different ages and how children and adolescents cope with fear and thrill inducing media experiences. The combination of survey and qualitative research offers a rich description of the phenomena and a thoughtful and well substantiated set of recommendations for how to aid children when they are frightened. This is a terrific book and I highly recommend it to students of children and media research. -- Ellen Wartella, Al-Thani Professor of Communication; Director, Center on Media and Human Development, Northwestern University
Fear in Front of the Screen provides an in-depth review of literature on media and fear in childhood and covers results of two rigorous cross-cultural studies that provide both a retrospective perspective of childhood media experiences and contemporary children's nightmares caused by watching frightening television. This book is accessible and informative for a wide range of readers and offers an informed perspective to consider media production, media selection and research approaches. * Communication Research Trends *

Maya Götz, Dr. phil, is Head of the International Central Institute for Youth and Educational Television (IZI) at the Bayerischer Rundfunk (Bavarian Broadcasting Corp.), Munich, Germany, and of the PRIX JEUNESSE Foundation. Her main field of work is research in the area of “children/youth and television” and gender-specific reception research. She has conducted over 100 formative studies to foster quality in current TV programmes.

Dafna Lemish is an Israeli media researcher in the fields of children, youth and leisure culture. She currently serves as Associate Dean for Programs at Rutgers School of Communication and Information. She is the author of numerous books and the founding editor of Journal of Children and Media.

Andrea Holler is Scientific Editor at the International Central Institute for Youth and Educational Television (IZI), Munich, Germany