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October 2 (UPI) – In a meta-analysis of studies, researchers found that violent video games were associated with a slight increase in physical aggression despite duel searches and theories.
Dartmouth researchers analyzed 24 studies conducted worldwide between 2010 and 2017 with more than 17,000 participants aged 9 to 19, and found that young video game players are victims of violence in the United States. screen. The results were published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers suggest that flaws in previous studies – because of demographics, timing effects or other causes – might be why the theories about the effects of video games persist while research does not has largely not corroborated.
"While no research project is definitive, our research aims to provide the most recent and convincing answers to key critics on this topic," said lead author Jay G. Hull, vice-dean. from the Dartmouth Faculty of Social Sciences. A press release. "Based on our findings, we believe that it is clear that violent video game is associated with a subsequent increase in physical aggression."
New analysis
The researchers examined the validity of the counterclaims of experts and politicians on the subject. They actually found that there was an association, but that the effect was not statistically significant.
To be included, the study must have measured violent video game exposure and physical aggression at least three weeks later, researchers said.
After taking into account several other factors, the meta-analysis reported an effect value of 0.08, which means that it represents less than 1% of the change in aggressive behavior in adolescents and adults. teens. And the researchers probably base this difference on flaws in the design of the study.
Dartmouth researchers found that the effect appeared to be very different across ethnic groups. The most important association involved white participants versus some Asians and no effects observed among Hispanics.
The authors stated that this may reflect a greater emphasis on maintaining empathy for the victims of aggression among Eastern and Hispanic cultures, as opposed to a "robust individualism" emphasized in the Western cultures.
"The most notable critic of the literature on violent aggression in video games has conducted studies on essentially Hispanic populations and found no evidence of this association," said co-author James D. Sargent, director of the C. Everett Koop Institute in Dartmouth. "If all my studies give zero results, I too would be skeptical."
The overall findings corroborate the 2015 conclusion of the American Psychological Association's working group that video games are linked to increased aggression by players. However, there is insufficient evidence to establish whether the connection extends to criminal violence or delinquency.
Previous research shows no link
But studies of other researchers have not found a correlation between playing games and exhibiting violent behavior in real life.
In a 2004 US secret service study, only one-eighth of school shooters regularly played violent video games. In addition, researchers from the University of York in Britain have found no evidence that video games make players more violent in a study to more than 3,000 participants.
Following a shootout in a high school that killed 17 people last February in Parkland, Florida, President Donald Trump met at the White House with representatives of the video game industry to discuss "The" violent exposure to video games and the correlation between aggression and desensitization of children. "
"Video games, movies, the Internet, it's so violent," said the president, referring to his 11-year-old son, Barron Trump. "I look at some of the things that he looks at and I say, how is this possible?"
Flaws of previous analyzes
In the new meta-analysis, Dartmouth researchers pointed to the erroneous critique of previous analyzes as one of the reasons why many reject the idea that violent video games can have an effect on young players.
Where previous analyzes have been criticized for including "non-serious" aggression measures, the Dartmouth team has focused on studies that include reports of overt physical aggression. over time. Their findings corroborated the hypothesis that violent games are associated with a subsequent increase in physical aggression.
Previous studies have also been criticized for not taking into account other variables that may lead to aggressive or violent behavior. When considering these variables, Dartmouth researchers stated that they had only a minor effect on the observed relationship between violent video game gambling and aggression, further highlighting the controversial connection. .
The Dartmouth research team also found that, despite allegations of bias in studies that correlated gambling with violence, there was no evidence of bias after conducting various tests on previous publications.
"We hope these results will help the field go beyond the question of whether violent video games increase aggressive behavior and ask why, when and for whom they have such effects," the researchers wrote.
Hull said he plans to examine the real importance of violent gambling in future research.
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