Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Violent video games are increasingly popular, raising concerns by parents, researchers, policy makers, and informed citizens about potential harmful effects. Chapter 1 describes the history of violent games and their explosive growth. Chapter 2 discusses research methodologies, how one establishes causality in science, and prior research on violent television, film, and video games. Chapter 3 presents the General Aggression Model, focusing on how media violence increases aggression and violence in both short and long-term contexts. Important scientific questions are answered by three new studies. Chapter 4 reports findings from a laboratory experiment: even children's games with cartoonish violence increased aggression in children and college students. Chapter 5 reports findings from a survey study of high school students: frequent violent game play leads to an angry and hostile personality and to frequent aggression and violence. Chapter 6 reports findings from the first longitudinal study video game effects: elementary school children who frequently played violent games early in the school year became more verbally and physically aggressive, and less helpful. Chapters 7 and 8 compare a host of risk factors for development of aggression, and find video game effects to be quite important. Chapter 9 describes the role of scientific findings in public policy, industry responses to scientific findings, and public policy options. Chapter 10 recommends that public policy debates acknowledge the harmful effects of violent video games on youth, and urges a more productive debate about whether and how modern societies should act.

The Role of Violent Media Preference in Cumulative Developmental Risk for Violence and General Aggression

“…Similar findings were reported by Eron et al (1972), Huesmann (1986), Viemero (1996), and Christakis and Zimmerman (2007). Anderson et al (2007) also have presented results of short-term longitudinal research showing that violent videogame playing is linked over time to increased aggression in the presence of other risk factors.…”

“…A cumulative risk view asserts that the number of risk factors experienced by an individual is more important for predicting negative outcomes in comparison to the specific types of risks involved (Rutter 1979;Sameroff 2000). Anderson et al (2007) provided evidence for the importance of adding violent media exposure to cumulative risk totals when predicting aggressive behavior.…”

“…A cumulative risk view asserts that the number of risk factors experienced by an individual is more important for predicting negative outcomes in comparison to the specific types of risks involved (Rutter 1979;Sameroff 2000). Anderson et al (2007) provided evidence for the importance of adding violent media exposure to cumulative risk totals when predicting aggressive behavior.In this study we conducted individual interviews with 390 juvenile delinquents detained in county and state facilities and small group surveys with 430 high school students attending schools in rural, suburban, and urban communities. Youth reported on their preferences and consumption habits with respect to television shows, films, and video/computer games, and provided information on their antisocial behavior and several related risk factors.…”

“…The Huesmann et al (2003) USA study and the Huesmann, Lagerspetz, and Viemero Finland study (Huesmann et al 1984;Viemero 1996) relied on cohorts drawn from suburban schools and intended to be representative of those communities. Anderson et al (2007) sampled from school populations of rural and suburban children. Second, likely due to their reliance on normative populations, developmental studies generally have not been able to assess and capture serious physically aggressive, violent, and delinquent behavior.…”

Bivariate and Bilateral Gamma Distributions

“…Copulas allow creating different bivariate distributions with different association parameters. Hutchinson and Lai (1990) discussed some of these distributions. Also, some bivariate distributions using compound distributions are defined, see for example Hutchinson (1981).…”