Video žaidimų ir užklasinės veiklos reikšmė subjektyviam tėvų savo vaikų ir paauglių socialinio ir emocinio funkcionavimo vertinimui

Abstract

Background: Videogames have become a large part of children and adolescents’ everyday life and social interaction. Tanner (2007) reports that over 90% of children play videogames and this is likely an understatement. Previous research has shown a significant effect between playing videogames and aggressive and hostile behavior; however, there is some disagreement about the magnitude of the effect and what factors contribute to aggression and social skills. Purpose: The current study aimed to add to the literature regarding videogames and adolescent socio-emotional functioning, specifically the impact of videogame play on social skills and problem behaviors of children and adolescents as perceived by parents using a regression analysis. In addition, a relatively unknown predictor in this area, involvement in extracurricular activities, was included in the analysis. Material and Method: The sample included parents (N = 114) of 4 to 17 year old children who were recruited through a social networking site. Parents completed a demographic form and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in order to assess for social/emotional functioning. Results: The results suggested that none of the predictors were significant in predicting social skills and socio/emotional functioning at the .05 level. Future directions and limitations are discussed. keywords: Videogames, Social Functioning, Emotional Functioning, Extracurricular Activities. Tanner (2007) reports that over 90% of children play videogames and that figure may be an underrepresentation. Videogames have become 1 This paper was completed as part of a doctoral candidacy/thesis project. Address for correspondence is The University of Houston, 4800 Calhoun Road, Farish Hall Ste. 491, Houston, TX 770204-5027; e-mail: adboyce@uh.edu. ISSN 1941-7233, e-ISSN 2345-024X http://dx.doi.org/10.7220/1941-7233.12.2 Aaron Boyce, G. Thomas Schanding Jr., Andrea Backscheider Burridge, Milena Keller-Margulis 30 part of American culture and play a major role in entertainment in children’s daily life (Kallio, Mayra, & Kaipainen, 2011; Newman, 2004; yee, 2006). In fact, United States consumers spend an estimated 4.5 billion dollars annually on videogame consoles, content, and accessories (NPD Group, 2011). The recent increase in videogame use has lead researchers to examine the effects of videogames on various domains such as aggression (Carnagey & Anderson, 2005; Gentile, Lynch, Linder, & Walsh, 2004), addiction (Chappell, Eatough, Davies, & Griffiths, 2006; young, 2009), psychotherapy (Ceranoglu, 2010), school performance (Din & Calao, 2001; Ip, Jacobs, & Watkins, 2008), and healthcare (Kato, 2010). Videogames encompass a wide array of hardware and mediums including cell phones, game consoles, computers, and handheld systems. The types of videogames have expanded exponentially since the early years of gaming. For example, one of the most iconic and simple games is Pong, where the user simply had to keep a ball from entering their side of the screen by bouncing it off of a paddle; however, current videogames range from basic concepts to full encompassing story lines, online interactions, and even gameplay that can take over 100 hours to complete. The prevalence of videogame use and impact on culture has become so engrossing that videogames are now advertised on soft drink cups, pizza boxes, and in commercials. Colwell and Kato (2003) suggest that playing videogames may replace friends for some children and social isolation is a possible outcome of spending too much time engaged with videogames as opposed to peer interactions. Although this connection between playing videogames and potential impact on socio-emotional functioning has been recognized, the literature has been inconsistent in findings and further exploration is warranted. EFFECTS oF VIdEogAmES oN SoCIo-EmoTIoNAl FuNCTIoNINg