Citation

Ferguson CJ, Olson CK. J. Youth Adolesc. 2014; 43(1): 127-136.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Stetson University, DeLand, FL, 32729, USA, CJFerguson1111@Aol.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10964-013-9986-5

PMID

23975351

Abstract

The issue of children's exposure to violent video games has been a source of considerable debate for several decades. Questions persist whether children with pre-existing mental health problems may be influenced adversely by exposure to violent games, even if other children are not. We explored this issue with 377 children (62 % female, mixed ethnicity, mean age = 12.93) displaying clinically elevated attention deficit or depressive symptoms on the Pediatric Symptom Checklist. Results from our study found no evidence for increased bullying or delinquent behaviors among youth with clinically elevated mental health symptoms who also played violent video games. Our results did not support the hypothesis that children with elevated mental health symptoms constitute a "vulnerable" population for video game violence effects. Implications and suggestions for further research are provided.

Language: en