Violent video games don't predict aggressive behaviour

Exposure to violent video games or television shows is not a strong predictor of aggression or violence among youth. Instead, depression strongly influences children and teenagers' levels of aggression and violence.

The potential negative effects of violent video games on adolescent antisocial behavior, and youth violence in particular, is a highly debated issue, both in academic circles and among the general public and policy makers. However, to date, the research is inconclusive largely due to methodological problems.

The new study included 302 mostly Hispanic youths, aged between 10 and 14 years, in a small U.S. city on the border with Mexico. The participants were interviewed at the start of the study and again 12 months later. The researchers looked at their exposure to violence both in video games and on television as well as negative life events, including neighborhood problems, negative relationships with adults, antisocial personality, family attachment, and delinquent peers. They also assessed the styles of family interaction and communication, adolescents' exposure to domestic violence, depressive symptoms, serious aggression, bullying and delinquent behavior.

The initial interviews revealed that 75 percent of the participants played video games within the past month, and 40 percent played games with violent content. Boys were more likely than girls to play violent games.

At the follow-up interview a year later, 7 percent of the young people reported engaging in at least one criminally violent act during the previous 12 months. The most common types of violent acts were physically assaulting other students or using force to take an object or money from someone else. It was also found that 19 percent of the youth took part in at least one non-violent crime, such as shoplifting and thefts on school property over the same period.

It was seen that depressive symptoms were a strong predictor for aggression and rule breaking, and their influence was particularly severe for those who had preexisting antisocial personality traits. However, neither exposure to violence from video games or television at the start of the study predicted aggressive behavior in young people or rule-breaking at 12 months.

The study's dismissal of violent video games as a risk factor in aggression contrasts to some other recent findings, including an analysis of 130 studies on video games and violence released earlier this year, which concluded the evidence strongly suggests that playing violent video games increases aggressive thoughts and behaviours and reduces empathy. The current study concludes that depressive symptoms stand out as particularly strong predictors of youth violence and aggression, and therefore current levels of depression may be a key variable of interest in the prevention of serious aggression in youth.