The shocking negative effects of superheroes on children

Most of us think superheroes are a good role model for kids – they defend and protect the weak.

But a new study has revealed pre-schoolers do not admire these fictional characters for their bravery, but instead, favour their violent skills.

The study was conducted by Sarah M. Coyne from Brigham Young University to understand what preschool-aged boys and girls take away from being exposed to these fictional characters.

The research founnd that kids who are ‘highly engaged’ with superheroes are more likely to be aggressive.

'So many preschoolers are into superheroes and so many parents think that the superhero culture will help their kids defend others and be nicer to their peers,' Coyne said, 'but our study shows the exact opposite.

'Kids pick up on the aggressive themes and not the defending ones.'

Although parents may think their kids watching Superman or Batman rescue the weak from villains will teach them to do the same, they are only noticing the aggressive themes in the programs.

To find these results, Coyne recruited 240 children whose parents responded about the about the level of engagement their children had with superhero culture.

Each parent was asked how often their child watched superhero media and how much they identified with different characters.

The children were also interviewed about their favourite superheroes and why they liked them best.