Coyne Sarah M, Ashby Sarah, Munk Rachel J, Holmgren Hailey G, Shawcroft Jane, Densley Rebecca, Austin Tanya, Banks Kennedy, Van Alfen Megan
School of Family Life, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, United States.
Department of Human Ecology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Front Psychol. 2025 May 30;16:1537115. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1537115. eCollection 2025.
Superhero engagement is common in early childhood, particularly among boys, and tends to be related to negative outcomes, such as aggression. However, most research lumps all types of superhero engagement together and is conducted over a relatively short space of time. The current study is a five-year longitudinal study of four different types of superhero engagement (identification, toys, dress up, and media).
Participants included 430 children ( age = 29.17 months at Wave 1) and their primary caregivers who were asked questions about superhero engagement and social behavior once a year for 5 years.
Overall, superhero engagement was relatively high in early childhood and showed distinct trajectories depending on the type of engagement, with the most rapid growth occurring in superhero media. Boys and those who viewed high levels of television were more likely to have higher levels of superhero engagement. Additionally, early high identification with superheroes and playing with superhero toys and moderate but increasing superhero media predicted higher levels of aggression and aggressive defending over time. Dressing up as superheroes was related to very few outcomes during early childhood.
Overall, this study has implications for parents, educators, and creators of superhero media and merchandise.
在幼儿期，对超级英雄的热衷很常见，尤其是在男孩中，并且往往与负面结果相关，比如攻击性。然而，大多数研究将所有类型的超级英雄热衷行为归为一类，且研究时间相对较短。本研究是一项为期五年的纵向研究，涉及四种不同类型的超级英雄热衷行为（认同、玩具、角色扮演和媒体）。
参与者包括430名儿童（第一波时年龄为29.17个月）及其主要照顾者，研究人员在5年时间里每年向他们询问有关超级英雄热衷行为和社会行为的问题。
总体而言，幼儿期对超级英雄的热衷程度相对较高，并且根据热衷类型呈现出不同的发展轨迹，其中超级英雄媒体方面的增长最为迅速。男孩以及看电视较多的孩子更有可能有较高程度的超级英雄热衷行为。此外，早期对超级英雄的高度认同、玩超级英雄玩具以及适度但不断增加的超级英雄媒体接触量预示着随着时间推移会有更高水平的攻击性和攻击性防御行为。在幼儿期，装扮成超级英雄与很少的结果相关。
总体而言，本研究对超级英雄媒体及相关产品的家长、教育工作者和创作者具有启示意义。
