Children playing violent games are prone to aggressive behavior, a latest study says.
Researchers at Iowa State University studied 3,034 children and youngsters from Singapore for three years. In their study, the researchers accounted for several factors including parental involvement, gender and age.
The authors told the participants to provide information about their habits, aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition (aggressive fantasies, beliefs about aggression, and attaching reasons of hostility to vague provocations) and empathy. They also examined the effects of age, sex, parental monitoring and other traits.
The study results showed that children who played violent games had more chances of showing aggressive behaviour. An increase in cognitive aggression was seen in their behavior. The researchers found that even empathy did not reduce the effects of playing violent video games on aggression.
Lead researchers Douglas A. Gentile, Ph.D., of Iowa State University said the findings are a matter of concern as more than nine out of ten American youths play video games, most of which depict violence as fun, justified and without consequences.
"Because of the large number of youths and adults who play violent video games, improving our understanding of the effects is a significant research goal that has important implications for theory, public health and intervention strategies designed to reduce negative effects or to enhance potential positive effects," researchers said in a press release.
Earlier research done in the U.S. showed that violent video games do make children and teens more aggressive than their peers who do not play, this was noticed even in children who showed a more aggressive behavior generally.
There are some researchers who insist that exposure to violent gams and media has not led to any spike in crime rates, there are other factors that come into play like race, socio-economic status, genetics and environment.
The researchers also said that further research is required to find the cause and effect relationship between violent video games and aggressive behavior in children.
