AfterDawn: News

Violent video games affect 'unstable' youth

There has been yet more research published concerning a possible link between violent video games and youth behavior and emotional state. This time, the study found that "stable" participants were unaffected by violent video games. The researchers enlisted the help of 110 boys and 15 girls with an average age of 14.6.

The participants simply played Quake II for 20 minutes after researchers got a personality profile of each. After the gaming session ended, anger levels were immediately measured again. 77 of the participants had no change in their anger levels while 22 had elevated anger levels. 8 participants had started out with a higher anger level before playing then when they finished.



The study showed that those determined to have stable personalities had emotional states that were unaffected by the gaming. Of course, there have been many studies done on this subject and many more will follow with all sorts of results. This topic is also brought up frequently by politicians, usually as a distraction from something else or during a campaign.

Source:
DailyTech

Written by: James Delahunty @ 7 Apr 2007 18:54

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• 31 comments

• Nephilim

  God forbid any of these "unstable" kids had parents took an active interest in how their kid is doing in life and attend to their needs instead of lazy lumps that that turn over parenting to Sony's "PSNanny3".

  7.4.2007 20:34 #1

• szhbad

  2 TRUE

  7.4.2007 22:31 #2

• Attin

  Why cant these people go and cure AIDS or help the poors in Africa...
  
  ffs they should do something usefull!

  8.4.2007 01:14 #3

• lxhotboy

  When society starts putting the blame for those unstable kids where it should be we can start to find a solution for some of them. Divorce rates at too high today. Adults dont realize how much stress a divorce can put on a child and their development when they are young. On average a child from a single home is not as stable as a child from a traditional household. Adults act like children when it comes to marriage not being willing to comprimise and putting their own life or feelings ahead of their children who did not ask to be brought into this world. Not saying that a child from a single home cannot be a success but statistic show that child is more likely to end up in trouble or in jail. Second, stop blaming all the worlds problems on rap music and videogames. If a parents raises a child and is overly strict, they increase the chance of the child making bad decisions later in life. The world is real and if you shelter a child too much instead of talking with him about reality then they dont know how to react when they come face to face some of the hard to make decisions in life. I have a few preachers in my family that are strict on kids and it seems that their kids made a lot of bad choices in life. Pregnant at early ages, single with 2or 3 kids, let men hit them, cousins that are lesbians, sell drugs, incarcerated, and just make poor decisions in life etc...all because they were not exposed to the real world and talked with about it by an adult who either was too overprotective or too busy spending time with another individual outside of their marriage and not spending enough time with their spouse and neglecting their kids. That is a good blame for some of our problems today in society.

  8.4.2007 04:39 #4

• mark5hs

  the 22 that had higher anger levels were probably the ones that were losing

  8.4.2007 05:57 #5

• Jinx2011

  i agree with mark5hs the 22 probably sucked and were really bad at it.

  8.4.2007 08:41 #6

• Jinx2011

  i get no anger problems

  8.4.2007 08:42 #7

• vinny13

  I'd be in the group of 8. I'm 14 and Rockstar makes my favourite games. I play the GTA series all the time, and it's great for sress :P
  
  If you ever really hate someone, just go on a killing spree and pretend that everyone is that guy. Or just get a rocket launcher and blow up everything. It's a little odd but it's better then fighting with people in public. Just playing any game like that makes me forget about whatever.

  8.4.2007 11:54 #8

• Nephilim

  Quote:the 22 that had higher anger levels were probably the ones that were losing
  Ha! Ha! That one has me laughing!!!

  8.4.2007 12:53 #9

• Pride1

  Paying taxes makes you mad
  your girl cheating on you makes you mad
  waiting in line makes you mad
  annoying moskitoes makes you mad
  
  I suppose politicians are also working on these problems

  8.4.2007 17:00 #10

• unicronic

  First of all why use games like Quake 2 with "kids". Irresponsible indeed.
  
  Secondly, the scientists "discovered" that the unstable kids become even more unstabled after running around wasting everything that moves.
  
  AND THEY GET PAID TO FIND THIS STUFF OUT? WTF!?!?

  8.4.2007 17:23 #11

• alphabit

  Everything effects "unstable" kids and adults. If things did not effect them then they would be considered "stable". another pointless study by people without any life of their own, trying to restrict other peoples freedoms and pursuits of happiness. When they (children and adults) are inside playing video games they are not outside getting into trouble. Nothing is going to remove violence from our society but things like video games lets people vent their violence in a way that doesn't infringe on other peoples freedoms and pursuits of happiness. In other words, when they cant sit around the house playing games, they most likely will be on the streets making their own "fun". IMHO

  8.4.2007 17:53 #12

• ZippyDSM

  lxhotboy
  Scapegoating has always been on of societies favorite pass times,to blame books or fiction instead of the real issues makes them feel better and lets them control the lower masses better.

  8.4.2007 20:30 #13

• SamNz

  Originally posted by alphabit:Everything effects "unstable" kids and adults. If things did not effect them then they would be considered "stable". another pointless study by people without any life of their own, i thought that as well

  8.4.2007 23:39 #14

• JNagy129

  wut i want to know is how you can test anger levels. What is an "anger level" anyway? And maybe the kids were already mad at something else. Maybe they got stuck with a crappy controller.

  9.4.2007 08:13 #15

• ZippyG

  I'd be pretty pissed that they're making me play quake 2 instead of Unreal 2k4...or something a bit more up-to-date.

  9.4.2007 12:18 #16

• JNagy129

  good point, i bet itd be pretty hard to even find quake 2 w/ downloading it or something

  9.4.2007 15:26 #17

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by JNagy129:good point, i bet itd be pretty hard to even find quake 2 w/ downloading it or something
  God I miss Q2...Q4 is such pompous trash >>
  
  anyway my take on it is stress and frustration play a factor in how they calc "rwage" prehaps these tweens have not found the relaxation that masturbation brings,in any case most studies see the rage caused by frustration and claim godwin that the game creates violent behavior however if a person was never taught to control oneself or if they have bad amount of stress in life the fuse is easily lit and quick to burn.
  
  So this study shows a good link between frustration and rage/violence which is something we already know......

  9.4.2007 16:03 #18

• ZippyG

  Quote:[quote=ZIppyDSM]prehaps these tweens have not found the relaxation that masturbation bringsMaybe they should redo this test with a games like "Biko 3" or "Battle Raper"...some of Japan's finest. Then again, it might just be better to encourage them to find real girlfriends. :)

  9.4.2007 19:20 #19

• ZippyDSM

  Quote:[quote]Originally posted by ZIppyDSM:prehaps these tweens have not found the relaxation that masturbation bringsMaybe they should redo this test with a games like "Biko 3" or "Battle Raper"...some of Japan's finest. Then again, it might just be better to encourage them to find real girlfriends. :)
  ==================================================================
  you forgot sexy beach :X

  9.4.2007 21:58 #20

• JSalvino

  Touche! I get so tired of hearing parents complain about this crap. It's not that difficult to be engaged with your kid. I play video games with my son all the time. We have a Gamefly account, he tells me what he wants and I - being the owner of the account - determine if its acceptable. It's not that difficult and, if you have a modicum of hipness left in you as a parent, it can actually be quite fun.

  10.4.2007 09:25 #21

• JNagy129

  hmm ya and i guess that means they shouldn't play sports either b/c u no if they lose their anger levels might go up then too, and who knows wut else might need to banned from kids.

  10.4.2007 17:09 #22

• ZippyG

  The problem always was and still is one thing: stupid and/or incompetent parents.

  10.4.2007 20:00 #23

• alphabit

  Zippy, I agree with you. At least to get a drivers license you have to pass tests. But any 2 people, just smart enough to figure out how to f*ck,-no test required- can reproduce and become parents.

  11.4.2007 01:43 #24

• Nephilim

  The way I see it, you have 'parents' and 'people with kids' and unfortunately the latter seem to vastly outnumber the former nowadays.

  11.4.2007 08:32 #25

• Unfocused

  Hell, I would be pissed if I had to play Quake II for twenty minutes. Why not use a newer game for this test? All of these tests don't mean Jack. I'm sure that a large percentage of our little community here are gamers. If you all were violent people, then you would not be members here, you would be guest of the state.
  
  If video games make kids violent, then how come the sales numbers of these consoles are so high?
  
  These people will never learn.

  11.4.2007 11:55 #26

• Auslander

  Originally posted by Nephilim:The way I see it, you have 'parents' and 'people with kids' and unfortunately the latter seem to vastly outnumber the former nowadays.i think there have always been far fewer "parents" than "people with kids." it's just that these days, the idiotic little brats aren't getting killed off like they used to. stupid social safety measures are inhibiting evolution.
  

  
  

  11.4.2007 12:12 #27

• ZippyDSM

  alphabit
  ya but havign a goverment chose who can reproduce and who cant thats not a healthy governmental plan :X

  11.4.2007 15:40 #28

• alphabit

  Its a no win situation.

  12.4.2007 10:40 #29

• procode

  Does anyone really take any notice of these surveys, other than those looking to fill their empty lives by looking for some brush with the public eye .. ??
  
  Perhaps "Psychology, Crime & Law" (who initiated the above research), should 'study' films like "Spirit Bear", then fill their lives explaining the 'dangers to the public' of films suggesting that killer bears are 'timid', protective and 'almost friendly', towards those who wish them no harm .. ;)
  
  Or alternatively, studying the 'Mind Reading Ability' of wild bears (just as logical), would get them out of our way for a while .. :D
  
  Procode ..

  15.4.2007 10:01 #30

• WierdName

  Originally posted by Pride1:Paying taxes makes you mad
  your girl cheating on you makes you mad
  waiting in line makes you mad
  annoying moskitoes makes you mad
  
  I suppose politicians are also working on these problemsOf course they are. Havent you noticed the self checkout lanes? For taxes, they just take them out without you knowing so it doesnt make you mad cuz you dont know. Mosquitos, they're gonna make it a law to wear reppelant. As for cheating, they're gonna do that dot-on-the-forehead thing like in Indea. As for that water splashing up your butt in the bathroom, they're gonna make it regulation to have splash proof toilets in all bathrooms...

  15.4.2007 14:49 #31