Video games make boys feistier: study

Oh no they don't, oh yes they do...

By Lucy Sherriff • Get more from this author

Posted in Science, 22nd August 2005 15:15 GMT

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A mere seven days after the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign said it could rule out a link between violence in video games and aggression in children, Saint Leo University in Florida has come to exactly the opposite conclusion.

The Floridian research team says that its analysis of 20-years of research into the question reveals that the majority of studies support the idea that there is a link between screen violence and aggressive behaviour.

One study used mood assessments to track how aggressive children became after playing violent games. It found that playing for just ten minutes was enough to increase aggression.

The researchers presented their work at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association (APA).

The APA issued a statement suggesting that video games are particularly bad because violence often has no negative consequences - it is often the point of the game. It also noted that in contrast to TV and film violence, the kids are participating in the violence. It suggests this makes it harder for parents to explain the violence to their kids.

It recommended that the amount of violence in games marketed to kids should be reduced. ®

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