Violent Video Games, Aggressive Behavior, and Social/ School Adjustment

We found that:

• The majority of children in the study (60%) played violent video games at least once a week. Furthermore, 56% played alone, 50% played with other people present, and less than 30% played online at least once a week.
• Males played violent video games, alone and with others, more often than females.
• Younger students spent more time playing violent video games than older students both alone and with others who were present. However, students in different grades spent similar amounts of time playing violent video games online.

The relation between playing violent video games and adjustment:

• Higher frequencies of violent video game play, both alone and with others, were significantly related to higher levels of aggressive behavior and lower levels of prosocial behavior. This pattern generally stood for both genders and for all three grade levels.
• Higher frequencies of violent video game play, alone and with others, related to lower feelings of social competence both in general and with regard to making close friends. Again, this relation generally held for both genders and for all three grade levels.
• Higher frequencies of violent video game play, alone and with others, related to lower GPA, less school involvement, and more negative attitudes regarding school. Once again, this relation generally held for both genders and for all three grade levels.
• Primary context of play (i.e., primarily playing violent video game alone, versus with others present, versus with others online) did not differentially relate to adjustment. In other words, it appears that violent video game exposure, regardless of the context in which children play them, is the critical factor in the relations found.

Implications:

1. The results demonstrated that the majority of students are playing violent video games and they play alone, with others present, and, to a lesser extent, with others online.
2. The results also indicate that there are gender and age differences in game play patterns. Males tend to play video games more frequently than females and younger students play more frequently than older students.
3. This research also found that frequency of violent video game play, regardless of whether children play alone or with others, is significantly related to more aggressive and less prosocial behavior, decreased feelings of social competence, and difficulties with academic adjustment.
4. Finally, it is noteworthy that this study finds that children are playing violent video games both alone and with others who are either present or online. Future research should examine the effects of playing with others to determine if there are any differences in what is learned from video games while playing alone versus playing with others.

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