Violent video games and child aggression

Do children become more aggressive after playing video games or are aggressive kids more attracted to violent videos?

By Charyn Pfeuffer - MSN Living Editor Dec 17, 2012 8:38PM

The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut on Dec. 14 has left the world shocked and heartbroken. In the wake of 26 deaths, including 20 children, there is a desperate search for answers.

As the community of Newtown and the nation try to make sense of why an individual would carry out such devastation, gun control, mental health issues and violent video games have all been called into question.

As details unfold surrounding Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old Newtown shooter, his “strange” behavior and “obsession” with violent video games keeps surfacing. Lanza lived at his mother's colonial-style mansion, where he had two of the house's four bedrooms – one for himself and the other for the computer where he played violent video games, reports the The Telegraph.

According to express.co.uk, Lanza's favorite video game was said to be a shockingly violent fantasy war game called Dynasty Warriors. Was it a game or easy access to a deadly arsenal of guns – he reportedly learned how to shoot after his mother took him to local ranges - that inspired Lanza to carry out the deadly massacre?

The topic of virtual violence resulting in real life aggression has long been controversial. Are these games simply a fun hobby, or for children who may already be mentally or emotionally unstable, do these games have the ability to push someone over the edge?

A study by Dr. Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D., of Iowa State University in Ames looked at how children and teen's video game habits at one time related to their behavior three to six months later, reports CNN.com.

Bing: The latest developments in the Connecticut school shooting.

In every group, children who were exposed to more video game violence did become more aggressive over time than their peers who had less exposure, cites the study. This was true even after the researchers took into account how aggressive the children were at the beginning of the study – a strong predictor of future bad behavior, reports CNN.com.

The findings are “pretty good evidence” that violent video games do indeed cause aggressive behavior, Dr. L. Rowell Huesmann, director of the Research Center for Group Dynamics at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research in Ann Arbor was quoted on CNN.com.

"There is a real harm in children having exposure to violence, such as playing violent video games," says Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Debra Kissen, Ph.D., M.H.S.A. of Chicago, IL. "By playing violent video games, children (and adults) become desensitized to this content and therefore experience less of an emotional reaction to violence," says Kissen. "Therefore, violent behavior becomes normalized and becomes a more reasonable alternative when experiencing a conflict."

Other researchers have challenged the association between violent video game use and school shootings, saying that most of the young perpetrators had personality traits, which were apparent before the shootings and predisposed them to violence, reports the Harvard Mental Health Letter. These factors make it more difficult to accept the playing of violent games as an independent risk factor.

Do you think that violent video games trigger aggressive behavior in kids? Why or why not?

Photo: Image Source/Getty Images

Bing: How to tell if your child is emotionally disturbed

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367Comments

Best

Dec 21, 2012 10:38PM

What a load of bs. I've been playing violent video games since I was probably 5 or 6 (21 now) and not once in my life have I thought that shooting a place up was a good idea. This dude had mental issues long before he ever touched a video game. The violence in the games probably attracted him to them, but the violence itself did not make him violent. I'm one of millions of gamers out there that are completely sane and non-violent in real life. Stop pushing the blame on other things and call it where it's at. Adam was nuts.

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Someone

Dec 21, 2012 10:50PM

He was dangerous and his mother knew it. It was irresponsible of her to have guns in the home.

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atltom58

Dec 21, 2012 10:42PM

when i was a kid i was a big fan of the roadrunner cartoons and I never once thought about going to the acme co. and buying things to kill other people.......I spent my money on candy.......

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Teach314

Dec 21, 2012 10:41PM

I think our culture is desensitized to violence in general. Videogames don't help, certainly.

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jcoelh99

Dec 21, 2012 10:49PM

The person that committed this terrible act, as well as others that have done the same, are all mentally ill. They did not "become violent" because of video games. They were mentally disturbed individuals well before their horrible acts of violence. Blaming video games for something like this is absurd, and it smacks of a hidden agenda. Too often, people look to some other reason besides the obvious, to create a simple and easy (for them) to consume reason for a tragedy like the shootings in CT, as well as other violent acts. The "reality", is that it is usually not simple, and very often the reasons are too difficult to digest..This is usually due to ignorance, or preference for some other reason to be the root cause...a reason that "fits" someone's agenda.

This person was mentally ill, as were the others in CO and in AZ...and just about anywhere else you see these terrible events happening. They also had access to weapons. So...if some people do not want to put the brain power into understanding the complexities of a mental illness, abuse, neglect, and exposure to firearms while all of that is going on...then I can simplify it. He was "crazy" (aka, mentally ill) + his house was full of weapons. THAT...is why this tragedy happened. Not video games, or movies. Mental illness + firearms = tragedy. We address those two root causes, and we have the potential to prevent these things from happening in the future.

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tlb100270

Dec 21, 2012 10:51PM

It's not so much video games ENTIRELY. I think a lot of kids are spending too much time playing the video games then they are spending time outside playing with their friends. With this whole gaming community, people are interacting with one another but in a violent game. Kids are growing up not knowing how to interact with people face to face, and having regular small talk, because they are spending their lives on the internet or playing video games. Parents don't want to admit to this because, well..all this technology keeps their kids out of their hair.

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JayfromMD

Dec 21, 2012 10:49PM

Instead of blaming video games... Just lock up the parents that buy 6 year olds violent games. They have Ratings... From E- Everyone to AO - Adults Only... Dude @ gamestop ain't gonna risk his job selling your kid Grand Theft Auto... Plead your case somewhere else, like a parenting counselor.

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omelas

Dec 21, 2012 10:44PM

Video games don't only cause aggresive behavior. They develop a callosed attitude toward violence. When we were kids Roy Rogers shot the bad guy and rode off. Today we watch the bullets pierce the brain pan, blood,bone,and grey matter splatter on the wall, and then we proceed to shoot the next guy in the neck and watch arterial bleeding splatter on the ceiling. All of that while we are only 10 years old and our mental development can't see the horror of it all.