“Kill the Enemy”: Can Violence be Learned in Children by Activating Mirror Neurons Through Video Games?

L’écran et le truand : influence des jeux vidéo violents sur le passage à l’acte criminel

Violent video gaming among French adolescents: Impact on mental health by gender

Childhood obesity is one of the biggest public health threats facing the UK, and video game use is considered a risk behavior for obesity among children. However, few studies have explored the prospective association between video game use and body mass index (BMI) or the potential mediators of this association. To investigate whether a longer-term association exists between video game use at a young age and BMI SD score in later years, independent of television use, and to ascertain whether this association is mediated by other energy-balance behaviors. This cohort study is a secondary analysis of data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative sample of children who were born in the UK between September 1, 2000, and January 31, 2002, that focused on data collected when the children were aged 5, 7, 11, and 14 years. Data for all variables, except BMI, were provided by parental or caregiver reporting if the children were younger than 14 years of age. At age 14 years, the children self-reported their own behavior. Initial data analysis was conducted between September 18, 2018, and September 28, 2018, with supplementary analyses conducted from October 7, 2019, to November 22, 2019. The main outcome variable was BMI SD scores, with video game use as the exposure variable of interest. Physical activity, bedtime regularity, sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, and high-calorie food consumption were included as potential mediating behaviors. The full sample comprised 16 376 children and had a nearly equal number of boys (8393 [51.3%]) and girls (7983 [48.7%]). Every 1 SD increase in the number of hours of video game use at age 5 years was associated with a β = 0.018 higher BMI SD score at age 14 years (95% CI, 0.004-0.032). A small partial mediation of this association was found (direct association: β = 0.017 [95% CI, 0.003-0.031]; indirect association: β = 0.0011 [95% CI, 0.0003-0.0019]), suggesting that irregular bedtimes and higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages were mediators. The mediation model accounted for 36.7% (95% CI, 35.5-37.8) of the variance of the BMI SD score at age 14 years. Results of this study suggest a small (and not clinically meaningful) association between video game use in early childhood and higher BMI in later years, which may be mediated by irregular bedtimes and higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. Future interventions to prevent childhood obesity should incorporate health promotion in mainstream video games to target children most at risk because of their high level of video game use.

Video game violence has become a highly politicized issue for scientists and the general public. There is continuing concern that playing violent video games may increase the risk of aggression in players. Less often discussed is the possibility that playing violent video games may promote certain positive developments, particularly related to visuospatial cognition. The objective of the current article was to conduct a meta-analytic review of studies that examine the impact of violent video games on both aggressive behavior and visuospatial cognition in order to understand the full impact of such games. A detailed literature search was used to identify peer-reviewed articles addressing violent video game effects. Effect sizes r (a common measure of effect size based on the correlational coefficient) were calculated for all included studies. Effect sizes were adjusted for observed publication bias. Results indicated that publication bias was a problem for studies of both aggressive behavior and visuospatial cognition. Once corrected for publication bias, studies of video game violence provided no support for the hypothesis that violent video game playing is associated with higher aggression. However playing violent video games remained related to higher visuospatial cognition (r (x) = 0.36). Results from the current analysis did not support the conclusion that violent video game playing leads to aggressive behavior. However, violent video game playing was associated with higher visuospatial cognition. It may be advisable to reframe the violent video game debate in reference to potential costs and benefits of this medium.

Video Game Internal Turfs and Turfs of Play

Recently, research studies and media have reported on the detrimental effects violent video games have on the social behaviors of adolescents. For example, previous studies have found that playing video games is positively associated with aggressive behaviors and negatively associated with prosocial behaviors. However, very few studies have examined the mediating effects of personal characteristics between students playing video games and their social behaviors. Thus, using a sample of 1,242 seventh, eighth, and ninth grade Korean students, the authors aimed to determine how playing video games is related to aggressive and prosocial behaviors and whether the emotional competencies of adolescents, such as empathy, emotional regulation, and behavioral self-control, mediate this relationship. The results indicated that violent video games have a significant direct effect on aggressive behaviors, and a significant indirect effect on prosocial behaviors. Specifically, empathy and behavioral self-control were found to mediate the relation between playing violent video games and prosocial behaviors. These results suggest different prevention and intervention approaches to reduce aggressive behaviors and increase prosocial behaviors in students exposed to violent video games. The limitations and implications of these findings are discussed.

The potential impact of violent video games on increasing players’ aggression is a highly controversial issue in public debate and has been examined thoroughly in the scholarly literature. This chapter reviews the current state of knowledge about the empirical evidence and theoretical explanations concerning the relationship between exposure to video game violence and aggressive affect, cognitions, and behavior. It starts by presenting results from content analyses on the extent to which violence features in video games before looking at usage intensity and the appeal of violent games. The main part of the chapter provides a review of meta-analytic, experimental, and longitudinal studies addressing the strength of the link between the use of violent video games and aggression, followed by a discussion of the psychological processes underlying short-term effects and long-term consequences of playing violent video games. The final section summarizes interventions directed at reducing the effects of media violence on aggression.

Introduction: Children who play violent video games can become violent and aggressive. An aggressive emotional change in their behavior and deviation in academic performance is usually noticed. Aim: To assess the impact of violent video games playing among school going adolescents. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among a random sample of 400 adolescents recruited from four selected English medium schools of a City of Northern India by convenient sampling. Each student was interviewed by using a self-structured questionnaire which covered demographics, video gaming behaviors, and effects of video game playing on adolescents. Statistical Analysis: Collected data were entered in Microsoft Excel and subjected to suitable statistical tests. Results: 83.75% of the participants play video games while 1/3rd preferred to play violent games. 72.24% of the parents did not monitor the video game content of their children. Both boys (58.56%) and girls (17.12%) got aggressive during parent’s interference while playing violent video games. Most of the male (62.07%) were willing to apply actions of violent video games in real life. About 63.21% male violent video gamers showed poor academic performance as compared to girls (33.33%). Conclusion: Adolescents and their parents should be updated about the negative impact of excessive video game playing on health and psychosocial functioning.

Introduction: The purpose of the present study is to graphically and comprehensively illustrate the data on the impact of violent video games on the behavior of children and adolescents. Materials and Methods: This visualization system was designed based on the Schneider principle using the results of a clinical study carried out by psychologists at the Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, United States that included 242 children aged 8 to 12 years in three groups. All groups played different versions of the Minecraft game, then using data recorded in an Excel file on the Figshare site, four variables were depicted. The variables including finding the gun, length of time the gun was held, the number of trigger pulls, as well as demographic or control characteristics of age and gender of the children were evaluated. Results: Visualization was designed in the Processing software environment and it was easy to compare the three groups using the color, shape, and coordinate channels. Accordingly, it appeared that violent behaviors in children who experienced gun play were greater than those played the sword; both of them showed more violent behaviors compared to the group who played the non-violent version. Violent behaviors were also more prevalent in male children in all three groups. In other words, girls in the 8-12 age group in all three groups were less likely to exhibit post-game aggression. Conclusion: In this study, data on the impact of violent video games on the behavior of children and adolescents were graphically and comprehensibly visualized based on the Schneider Principle and revealed that violent behaviors in children who experienced violent video games were higher than those in the control group. Violent behaviors were also more prevalent in male children in all three groups.

Background: Exposure to violent content through video games can shape perceptions of aggression as normative or acceptable, potentially desensitizing adolescents to violence and increasing the likelihood that they will engage in aggressive behavior in their real-world interactions. This narrative review examines the relationship between violent video games (VVGs) and youth aggression, addressing (i) VVG exposure through the lens of Social Learning Theory and the General Aggression Model; (ii) the biological determinants of aggressive behavior, including neurophysiological correlates and the potential modulatory role of the gut microbiome; (iii) and current evidence on the influence of VVG exposure on adolescent aggression. Results: VVG exposure may promote moral disengagement and reinforce aggressive behavior through rewarding violent actions, potentially leading to real-life aggression. Exposure to VVGs increases aggression by elevating cortisol levels, activating the sympathetic nervous system, stimulating the brain’s reward system, and disrupting neurotransmitter balance. Alterations in gut microbiome composition could occur as a result of engaging in VVGs, potentially mirroring the physiological responses observed in violent real-world activities. The relationship between VVGs and aggression among adolescents has been widely explored, with studies generally indicating that VVG exposure can lead to desensitization to violence, reduced empathy, and diminished prosocial behavior. VVGs have also been linked to both bullying perpetration and victimization dynamics among adolescents, contributing to mental health issues, which in turn exacerbate problematic gaming behaviors. Conclusions: While there is evidence suggesting that exposure to VVGs is associated with increased adolescent aggression, discrepancies in the literature highlight the need for further research aimed at improving our understanding of this phenomenon. The studies on this topic reveal significant limitations, including a predominance of cross-sectional designs, methodological shortcomings, small sample sizes, and challenges in generalizing results. Factors such as the developmental stages of the participants, the exclusion of females, and unmeasured variables during long follow-up periods further complicate interpretations. Moreover, parental responsibility and the effectiveness of age ratings require closer examination.

This study aims to identify the relationship of playing violent video game addiction and aggressive behavior of elementary school students. This research uses analytic survey design with cross sectional approach. The populations in this study were all elementary students in Unklab Elementary School Airmadidi amounted to 158 people. Sample selection using purposive sampling technique amounted to 87 people, with the criteria such as male and female, grade III and IV, love to play a violent video game, plays video games more than 2-3 hours every day from last one year. Data collection using a video game use behavior questionnaire and aggressive behavior questionnaire adapted from Siregar (2014). Univariate analysis uses frequency distribution and bivariate analysis using Spearmen Correlation and Partial Correlation. The results of the study showed that of 87 respondents, most of which were included in the category of high violent video game playing addiction that is 39 respondents (44.8%), mostly included in the category of aggressive behavior is very high that is 41 respondents (47.1%). The result of Spearman Correlation statistical test between violent video games use addiction and aggressive behavior obtained p value = 0.000 <0.05 it means H01 rejected. The results of Partial Correlation between the violent video games playing addiction and aggressive behavior by gender obtained p value = 0.000 <0.05 it means H02 rejected. Gender respondents who aggressively behaved with high category were male which amounted to 35 respondents (71.4%) and female were 6 respondents (15.8%), therefor men are more aggressive than women. For parents to be able to control and guide children to control and limit the use of electronic devices as entertainment that became one of the factors causing children to use the violent video games.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Video Games

Over time, there has been a significant increase in violent behaviors among youths, and the average age of crime has risen. Study objective was to find out how video games affected the behaviors of men and women in twin cities of Pakistan. Using quantitative research design, the data was collected from (n=204) respondents aged 15 to over 30 years old living in Rawalpindi and Pakistan. Selection of respondents was made using available and convenient sampling and questionnaire was used to gather the data. The data collection tool was consisted on three segments, 1) demographic information, 2) general questions related to the video games and 3) Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (29 questions). The results showed significant positive relationship among the variables i.e., violent games and increase in aggression level. Findings showed that the respondents those play violent games more than 4 hours daily, the aggression level was higher in them. The study concluded that there is a connection between playing violent video games and aggressive as well as social behavior. Despite the rating of aggressiveness, the participant's attitude toward rage and hatred was more apparent. Video games are linked to teens' declining empathy levels in addition to their increased hostility. Frequently playing video games leads to lack of unsympathetic, and lacked a selfless mindset.

The impact of violent video games (VVGs) on youth remains unclear given inconsistent results in past literature. Most previous experimental studies have been done with college students, not youth. The current study examined the impact of VVGs in an experimental study of teens (12-18). Participants were randomized to play either a violent or non-violent video game. Teens also reported their levels of stress and hostility both before and after video game play. Hostility levels neither decreased nor increased following violent game play, and Bayesian analyzes confirmed that results are supportive of the null hypothesis. By contrast, VVG exposure increased stress, but only for girls. The impact of VVGs on teen hostility is minimal. However, players unfamiliar with such games may find them unpleasant. These results are put into the context of Uses and Gratifications Theory with suggestions for how medical professionals should address the issue of VVG play with concerned parents.

With the gradual development of the Internet, playing video games has become a new trend. More and more people are increasingly playing the violent video games, which often contain various bloody elements, including but not limited to killing other players with weapons, and there is often blood in the picture. And this topic has attracted many scholars attentions. This paper will use literature review to review the current studies about the impact of playing violent video game on anxiety disorder. It will also involve a branch of violent games, FPS games. While previous studies show mixed results, this literature review will specially focus on the negative effects that violent video games bring to the anxiety disorder. The database includes the PubMed and Google Scholar, but there are fewer studies about FPS game, and there is a considerable room for future specific studying in this topic. Although disagreements remain in the literature review, the overall evidence suggests that prolonged and intense engagement in violent video games may have negative impacts on anxiety disorder. Future research should use more longitudinal research to establish the causal relationship.