Close X
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
ADVT 
Health & Fitness

Video games cause deviant behaviour in teens: Study

Darpan News Desk IANS, 05 Aug, 2014 07:37 AM
  • Video games cause deviant behaviour in teens: Study
Teenagers who play mature-rated, risk-glorifying video games are more likely to engage in alcohol use, smoking cigarettes, delinquency and risky sex, says a study.
 
Such games - especially character-based games with anti-social protagonists - appear to affect how adolescents think of themselves, with potential consequences for their alter ego in the real world, the findings showed.
 
"Up to now, studies of video games have focused primarily on their effects on aggression and violent behaviours," said James Sargent, professor at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in the US.
 
"This study is important because it is the first to suggest that possible effects of violent video games go well beyond violence and apply to substance abuse, risky driving and risk-taking sexual behaviour," Sargent added.
 
In the new study, researchers conducted a longitudinal nationwide study involving more than 5,000 randomly sampled US teenagers who answered a series of questions over four years in telephone interviews.
 
They looked at a number of factors, including the playing of three violent risk-glorifying video games (Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt, Spiderman) and other mature-rated video games.
 
They found that such games are associated with subsequent changes in a wide range of high-risk behaviours and suggest this is due, in part, to changes in the users' personality, attitudes and values, specifically making them more rebellious and thrill seeking.
 
The study appeared in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

MORE Health & Fitness ARTICLES

Asthmatic? Stop worrying about smells

Asthmatic? Stop worrying about smells
Are you an asthmatic and constantly worried about scents and fragrances in the surrounding air? This thought alone can actually harm you more than you can think of...

Asthmatic? Stop worrying about smells

How to make your kids eat veggies

How to make your kids eat veggies
Do you find it hard to make your kids eat vegetables? Then do not tell them vegetables are good for them as children are less likely to eat healthy foods when they hear...

How to make your kids eat veggies

The Importance of an Anesthesiologist

The Importance of an Anesthesiologist
Aiming for a pain-free process from beginning to end

The Importance of an Anesthesiologist

Facing memory lapses? Catch some sleep

Facing memory lapses? Catch some sleep
Missing sleep lately owing to family stress or extra workload at office? Get back to normal routine fast as lack of sleep can hurt your memory....

Facing memory lapses? Catch some sleep

Choose right fat to protect your heart

Choose right fat to protect your heart
Not all fat is bad for your heart. Too much dietary fat is bad but the right kind of fat keeps the heart healthy, a promising study shows....

Choose right fat to protect your heart

Overreacting harms winning chances

Overreacting harms winning chances
New York, July 22 (IANS) How you react to a loss or a win speaks a lot about your chances of winning the next time, says a study....

Overreacting harms winning chances