The effects of media violence on children and what parents and teachers can do about it is the focus at this year's Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention annual conference to be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, at the Millennium Hotel, 2040 Walden Ave., Cheektowaga.
Keynote speaker for the annual conference is Douglas Gentile, Ph.D., presenting on the effects of media on aggression. Gentile, associate professor of developmental psychology at Iowa State University, will discuss psychological theory and research that has demonstrated short- and long-term effects of media violence on children, adolescents and adults.
Gentile will review the research and demonstrate how using a public health risk or resilience approach can allow people to cut through the rhetoric to achieve a deep understanding of the effects of media violence.
"Everyone seems to have an opinion about the media and violence," said Amanda B. Nickerson, Ph.D., director of the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention and associate professor in the department of counseling, school and educational psychology in the UB Graduate School of Education.
"Our keynote speaker, Dr. Douglas Gentile, is an award-winning researcher, educator and author who develops and conducts research designed to give parents and other caregivers the kind of information they need and want to make informed media choices for their children. His presentation promises to be both engaging and enlightening."
In addition, the conference will include poster and paper presentations on topics such as social media and bullying, aggression in young children, bullying and disabilities, humane education, relational aggression, creating safe spaces for LGBTQ youth, bullying in young children, social media and cyberbullying, and the Dignity for All Students Act legislation.
Presenters will include UB faculty and graduate students, as well as researchers and practitioners from across the state.
Participants are asked to register online by Sept. 29 by visiting: http://gse.buffalo.edu/alberticenter/events/conference. For questions, contact Brie Kishel at 716-645-1532 or [email protected].