ABSTRACT
Since 1992, the St. Helena Research Project (Charlton, 1998b) has been
studying the impact of broadcast television in one of the most isolated
Western island societies, the British Overseas Territory of St. Helena
(Cross, 1980; Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1999; Schulenburg,
1998). Research presented in this volume claims that nearly 5 years after
television was introduced to St. Helena there has been no significant in-
crease in levels of antisocial behavior among young children on the island.
Instead, the high rates of good behavior among young pupils noted before
television’s arrival appear to have been maintained. These findings are
contrary to claims that exposure to television encourages children to be-
have violently (Joy, Kimball, & Zabrack, 1986; also see Barker & Petley,
