Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents: Theory, Research, and Public Policy

199 Pages·2007·0.93 MB·English

by  Craig A. Anderson

Violent Video Game Effects
on Children and Adolescents
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VIOLENT VIDEO GAME
EFFECTS ON CHILDREN
AND ADOLESCENTS
Theory, Research, and
Public Policy
Craig A. Anderson
Douglas A. Gentile
Katherine E. Buckley
1
2007
3
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Anderson, Craig Alan, 1952–
Violent video game effects on children and adolescents : theory, research,
and public policy / by Craig A. Anderson, Douglas A. Gentile, and Katherine E. Buckley.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13 978-0-19-530983-6
ISBN 0-19-530983-9
1. Video games and children. 2. Video games and teenagers. 3. Violence in mass media.
4. Children and violence. 5. Youth and violence. 6. Aggressiveness in children.
7. Aggressiveness in adolescence.
I. Gentile, Douglas A., 1964– II. Buckley, Katherine E. III. Title.
HQ784.V53A53 2007
302.23′1—dc22 2006016746
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by grants from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development (NICHD), and the Laura Jane Musser Foundation
(LJMF). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not
necessarily represent the official views of the CDC, the NICHD, or the
LJMF.
This work benefited greatly from 10 anonymous peer reviews. We grate-
fully thank these individuals for their wonderful suggestions and com-
ments. In addition, we thank Jennifer Rappaport, the editorial board at
Oxford University Press, and countless colleagues and students who con-
tributed in one way or another to this work.
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Contents
Part I. Introduction
1 Violent Video Games: Background and Overview 3
2 Effects of Exposure to Violent Entertainment Media 12
3 The General Aggression Model 40
Part II. New Studies
4 Study 1: Experimental Study of Violent Video Games With
Elementary School and College Students 61
5 Study 2: Correlational Study With High School Students 78
6 Study 3: Longitudinal Study With Elementary School
Students 95
7 Risk Factor Illustrations 120
viii Contents
Part III. General Discussion (What Does It All Mean?)
8 New Findings and Their Implications 133
9 Interpretations and Public Policy 142
10 Reducing Violent Video Game Effects 160
Appendix 1: Best Practices Coding 165
Appendix 2: Video Game Ratings 167
References 173
Index 187
PART I
INTRODUCTION
In Part I we describe the basic issues concerning violent video games, past re-
search, and our theoretical approach. Chapter 1 presents a brief history of vio-
lent video games, youth exposure to such games, and an overview of things to
come. Chapter 2 lays out a host of conceptual viewpoints involving defini-
tions, methodologies, and guiding principles. It then provides a brief review of
prior media violence research, with a special emphasis on research involving
the effects of violent video games. Chapter 3 presents the General Aggression
Model in somewhat more detail, and shows how that model can be used to un-
derstand developmental processes and a risk and resilience approach to human
aggression. It concludes with a section on how the General Aggression Model
can be used to understand and predict effects of media violence on the devel-
opment of aggressive behavior and aggressive personality.