Emotion Regulation of Fear in Children’s TV Series: An Exploratory Analysis of Media Portrayals

Audiovisual media may provide young children with models of fear regulation. However, little is known about how characters in children’s television respond to fear and which regulatory strategies are portrayed. This study examined emotion regulation in 35 fear-related scenes from 12 television series popular among preschool-aged children, rated by 45 independent raters. The scenes were systematically evaluated regarding the regulatory strategies displayed by the characters, their adaptiveness, and the intensity of the depicted fear. Problem-oriented action (71.1%) and withdrawal (60.4%) were most frequently depicted. Higher fear intensity was associated with greater withdrawal (ρ = .65, p < .001). Adaptive regulation predominated overall (70.4%; p = .001), whereas avoidance did not predominate over confrontation. No significant gender differences emerged. Overall, the findings indicate that children’s television portrays diverse regulatory responses to fear, with problem-oriented action and withdrawal being particularly prominent. These findings provide a foundation for future research examining how young children perceive and interpret these regulatory responses.