Violent Video Games Linked To Aggression, Study

Playing violent video games has been closely linked to "increased aggression", yet there is not sufficient enough proof whether it leads to criminal violence or delinquency, says a task force report published by the American Psychological Association, according to sciencedaily.

"The research demonstrates a consistent relation between violent video game use and increases in aggressive behavior, aggressive cognitions and aggressive affect, and decreases in prosocial behavior, empathy and sensitivity to aggression," says the report of the APA Task Force on Violent Media.

The review is the first that probes the number of studies in the field and examines various approaches that help to review the literature.

"Scientists have investigated the use of violent video games for more than two decades but to date, there is very limited research addressing whether violent video games cause people to commit acts of criminal violence," said Mark Appelbaum, PhD, task force chair. "However, the link between violence in video games and increased aggression in players is one of the most studied and best established in the field."

About 90% of US children get involved in video games, and over 90% of them are involved in mature content, including violence. The link between violent media and aggression has led to a lot of research that keeps re-examining the issue, according to time.

Playing violent video games is just one of the various risk factors that lead to violent behavior, according to the report. There is no one factor, but the "accumulation of risk factors that tends to lead to aggressive or violent behavior."

Hence, in view of their findings, APA has asked the industry to make video games that enhance "parental control over the amount of violence" in the games. On August 7, the APA's Council of Representatives took a resolution at a meeting in Toronto, asking the Entertainment Software Rating Board to bring about changes in its video game rating system "to reflect the levels and characteristics of violence in games, in addition to the current global ratings."

Moreover, it also asks developers whether they could design games that are appropriate to users' age and psychological development. It gives voice to APA's support for additional research to investigate the gaps in the knowledge about the impact of the video game use.

This resolution replaced another resolution on the topic, passed in 2005.

There were also a lot of limitations in the research that called for more examination, such as the general failure to search for differences in the results between boys and girls who got involved in violent video games. There are also a number of probes that have not looked at the impact of violent video game play on children below the age of 10. Research has also not looked at the impact on children's development.

"We know that there are numerous risk factors for aggressive behavior," Appelbaum said. "What researchers need to do now is conduct studies that look at the effects of video game play in people at risk for aggression or violence due to a combination of risk factors. For example, how do depression or delinquency interact with violent video game use?"

The task force reviewed the research literature that had been published between 2005 and 2013, which looked carefully at violent video game use. The task force then conducted a "systematic evidence review" and a "quantitative review" of information on the issue that had been published between 2009 and 2013, according to financialexpress.