Knowledge about the Gulf Wars: A theoretical model of learning from the news

Abstract

This study explores the relationship of factors that influence adolescents’ learning about the two Gulf Wars from the news. A model constructed from data gathered in two sample surveys in Taiwan depicts these relationships.The results largely support the hypotheses that newspaper use,television news use,attention,and elaboration are related to knowledge about the Gulf Wars—and that television news tends to make a significant contribution to adolescents’ knowledge. Finally, path analyses suggest that media diversity seems to be an important factor influencing the relationships between media use, attention, elaboration, and knowledge.