Digital game violence and direct aggression in adolescence: A longitudinal study of the roles of sex, age, and parent–child communication

Abstract

This study investigated the roles of sex, age, and parent–child communication in moderating the association between digital game violence and direct aggression in a two-year longitudinal study. Finnish 12- and 15-year-old adolescents ( N = 316) participated in the follow-up survey. As hypothesized, digital game violence was linked to direct aggression both longitudinally and synchronously, and the link was moderated by parent–child communication in interaction with sex and age. Results suggest that the moderating role of parent–child communication changes with increasing age. Poor parent–child communication may be one of the factors in an adolescent's development that may strengthen the negative effects of digital game violence, but even good parent–child communication does not necessarily protect the adolescent in the long run. Digital game violence seems to be one of the risk factors of increased aggressive behavior.