Adolescents who play violent video games may become increasingly aggressive over time. Teens who regularly play violent video games are more likely to get into physical fights over time. The following studies lend weight to evidence that violent video games can encourage violence in some kids.   Researchers in America studied three groups of 9-to-18 year olds and followed them over several months. They found that in all three samples, a lot of violent video games played early in the school year led to higher levels of aggression during the school year, as measured later - even after controlling how aggressive the kids were at the beginning of the year.   An argument has been made that video games cannot be directly contributing to aggression because violence rates are low in Japan where video games are highly popular. By gathering data from Japan, the researchers tested that hypothesis directly and found that Japanese kids are not totally unaffected by playing violent video games. They're affected pretty much the same way other kids are.   The researchers studied two separate groups of teenagers from Japan - 1,231 teens in all (364 9-to-12 year olds from the US). At the outset, participants estimated how often they played violent video games, then their own aggressive behaviour was followed for up to six months afterwards.   The Japanese teens reported on their own violent behaviour using questionnaires, while teachers' and peers' reports were used to estimate the U.S. group's aggressive behaviour. In general, it was found that kids who habitually played violent video games were more likely than their peers to become increasingly involved in physical fights - even when their behaviour in the months leading up to the study was taken into account.   Of course, not all kids who play aggressive video games act them out in real life. Nor is media violence alone to blame for teenagers' aggression. But what these video games may do is feed the idea that violence is a normal and acceptable way to react to everyday conflicts, like getting bumped in the school. It is important to realise that violent video games do not create schools shooters.   Violent games are certainly not the only thing that can increase children's aggression but the above findings show that they are one part of the puzzle in both America and Japan.  
Pediatrics
November 2008
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