Impact of violent video games on the social behaviors of adolescents: The mediating role of emotional competence

Abstract

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.

Addiction to Video Games: A Case Study on the Effectiveness of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy on a Teenage Addict Struggling with Low Self-Esteem and Aggression Issues

“…He states that the most prevalent problems observed among youths and adolescents with behavioral problems are aggression, anxiety, and depression. In line with the aforementioned, the results of a study of You, Kim, & No (2015) indicated that violent video games have a significant effect on aggressive behaviors and a significant indirect effect on prosocial behaviors. Aggression has been defined as physical or nonphysical behavior directed toward harming or injuring another living being who is motivated to avoid such treatment (Baron & Richardson, 1994).…”

Short-Term Prosocial Video Game Exposure Influences Attentional Bias Toward Prosocial Stimuli

“…These studies found that violent games enhanced aggressive thoughts and emotions, and further resulted in aggressive behaviors. [5][6][7] Recently, an emerging body of research has been conducted to identify the influences of prosocial video games. These studies found that playing prosocial video games helped reduce aggressive behaviors and increase prosocial behaviors.…”

Heroic video game violence and prosocial behavior

“…Elevated aggressive behavior following violent video game play is thought to be the result of the activation of aggressive concepts, according to the General Aggression Model (see . Research has reported that playing violent video games also increases the latency with which one helps others (Bushman & Anderson, 2009), notably by reducing empathic concern for others (Fraser et al, 2012;You, Kim, & No, 2015). On the other hand, research with prosocial video games, in which the player does nice things (or life-saving things) to or for other game characters, indicates that playing these types of games actually increases prosocial behavior (Gentile et al, 2009; more), likely by increasing access to prosocial thoughts (Greitemeyer & Osswald, 2010; Hero Violence and Prosocial Behavior…”