Violent Video Games and Aggression Among Young Adults: The Moderating Effects of Adverse Environmental Factors

Abstract

Research is divided on the effects of violent video games (VVGs). Some scholars claimed that VVG promotes aggression, reduces empathy, increases self-injury, and externalization, whereas others claim that a minimal or, in some cases, no traits as reported by the former is associated with playing VVGs. This study provides evidence to support claims that VVG is associated with aggressive behavior among young adults. However, the study focused more importantly on the moderating effects of adverse environmental factors on this relationship from a cross-cultural perspective. A total of 3,219 young adults between 18 and 35 years sampled from colleges and game centers in Ghana and China provided support for this study. We adopted a parallel moderatedmediation regression analysis and found that increased exposure to VVG is associated with reduced empathy concerns, aggression-related thoughts, and increased aggressive behavior. Although controlling for gender, setting, and location, the results pointed to the magnifying effects of the adverse environments in explaining the association between VVG and aggressive behavior. This study thus provides strong support for the frequently debated adverse effects of playing VVG among young adults with a particular reference to environmental factors and will hence aid in communicating a more representative viewpoint on the effects of VVG.

Brands in a game or a game for brands? Comparing the persuasive effectiveness of in‐game advertising and advergames

“…On the other hand, since an advergame mostly offers simplicity and a low level of challenge, adults would not be able to use all of their cognitive capabilities and, therefore, would feel less engaged. Eventually, a more immersed or engaged player having optimal experience would demonstrate higher purchase intention of the advertised brand as found in other mediated and information processing contexts such as smartphone advertising (Martins et al, 2019), online shopping (Ozkara et al, 2017), social commerce (Yusuf et al, 2018), fan page in social media (Rahman et al, 2018), and live streaming digital marketing (Addo et al, 2021) to name a few.…”

Video Games Should Not Be Studied as Media That Only Passively Transmit Social Information

“…Zhai et al (2019) measured problematic video gaming by adapting the content of the Minnesota Impulsivity Interview to a questionnaire format, and found that problematic video gaming led to more somatic violence (e.g., more weapon carrying and fighting). Addo et al (2021) found that more time spent playing violent video games was associated with lower empathic attention, greater aggressionrelated thoughts, and higher aggressive behaviors.…”

The Relationship between Game Addiction and Aggression among Adolescents with Mediating Role of Narcissism and Self-Control

“…Meanwhile, narcissistic adolescents may also perceive certain situations as threats to their self-esteem and engage in aggressive behavior to defend their perceived sense of superiority ( 10 ). People can attain highly favorable emotional encounters by engaging in violent activities in online games without facing consequences, potentially leading to a diminished perception of the negative impacts of aggression and an elevated inclination towards real-world aggressive behaviors ( 11 ). Moreover, once observers have confidence in themselves and believe that observed behaviors can help them achieve their goals, they will imitate those behaviors.…”