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Video Games and Youth Violence: A Prospective Analysis in Adolescents

NCJ Number
234337
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 40 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2011 Pages: 377-391
Author(s)
Christopher J. Ferguson
Date Published
April 2011
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study reviewed the relationship of violent video games on youth violence.
Abstract
The potential influence of violent video games on youth violence remains an issue of concern for psychologists, policymakers and the general public. Although several prospective studies of video game violence effects have been conducted, none have employed well validated measures of youth violence, nor considered video game violence effects in context with other influences on youth violence such as family environment, peer delinquency, and depressive symptoms. The current study builds upon previous research in a sample of 302 (52.3 percent female) mostly Hispanic youth. Results indicated that current levels of depressive symptoms were a strong predictor of serious aggression and violence across most outcome measures. Depressive symptoms also interacted with antisocial traits so that antisocial individuals with depressive symptoms were most inclined toward youth violence. Neither video game violence exposure, nor television violence exposure, were prospective predictors of serious acts of youth aggression or violence. These results are put into the context of criminological data on serious acts of violence among youth. (Published Abstract)