Violent video games trigger aggressive and violent behavior in kids

United States, November 4: In an attempt to decode the factors driving the rising aggression and violence trends among children researchers of a comparative study in the United States and Japan found playing violent video games as the core culprit.

The findings published in this months journal Pediatrics, found that exposure to violent video games was the main force driving the otherwise peaceful children into aggression and violence.

Three studies, one American enrolling 364 children aged 9 to12 and two Japanese recruiting over 1,200 children aged between 12 and18 were embarked for the purpose.

The participants were examined for their behavior for over a period of 3-6 months.

In all three samples, despite the cultural differences and disparities in crime rates (overall violence rate is much lower in Japan as compared to U.S.) researchers found playing violent video games to fuel aggression among kids compared to those who abstained from such stuff.

"Basically what we found was that in all three samples, a lot of violent video game play early in a school year leads to higher levels of aggression during the school year, as measured later in the school year -- even after you control for how aggressive the kids were at the beginning of the year" Craig Anderson, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the Iowa State University's Center for the Study of Violence asserted.

In a similar study featuring in the same issue of Pediatrics, watching sex shows on television typically dosed with sexual content, ranging from flirting, touching, kissing to flirting, kissing and sensuous scenes entice teenagers to indulge in sexual acts.

Teenagers who watch such racy shows are twice as likely to get pregnant or impregnate their partner, the study found.

As the latest findings strongly suggest that various versions of media and entertainment like television, internet and games adversely impact the child’s normal shaping, researchers strongly suggest reducing such exposure.