Concern about the impact of media violence on children and adolescents is shared by the six signatories to the Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children: the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Psychiatric Association . Although a less well-researched medium at this point, violent video and computer games (referred to simply as video games) may have particular impact because of their actively engaging, content-generating nature . Recent content analyses suggested that up to 90% of all video games contain some sort of violent content, with at least half of these games including the potential for serious harm toward game characters . Such violent video games have become especially popular, even with relatively young children. In a recent survey of first through third graders, 53% of the children's favorite games had violent content, as rated by the children themselves (Jeanne Funk, PhD, Margaret Chan, unpublished data, 2004). In another recent survey of middle school volunteers, students listed and rated up to three favorite games using a list of six categories and descriptors developed with the help of children and adolescents and used in several previous studies. In that study, 99% of boys and 84% of girls categorized at least one of their current preferred video games as having violent content . The inescapable conclusion is that across childhood and adolescence and across gender, violent video games enjoy considerable popularity. Read more...

It is believed that repeated exposure to real-life and to entertainment violence may alter cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes, possibly leading to desensitization. The goal of the present study was to determine if there are relationships between real-life and media violence exposure and desensitization as reflected in related characteristics. One hundred fifty fourth and fifth graders completed measures of real-life violence exposure, media violence exposure, empathy, and attitudes towards violence. Regression analyses indicated that only exposure to video game violence was associated with (lower) empathy. Both video game and movie violence exposure were associated with stronger proviolence attitudes. The active nature of playing video games, intense engagement, and the tendency to be translated into fantasy play may explain negative impact, though causality was not investigated in the present design. The samples' relatively low exposure to real-life violence may,have limited the identification of relationships. Although difficult to quantify, desensitization to violence should be further studied using related characteristics as in the present study. Individual differences and causal relationships should also be examined. Read more...

Relationships between short- and long-term exposure to violent video games and desensitization, as measured through components of moral evaluation, were examined. Sixty-six children aged 5-12 years old completed questionnaires assessing video game experience and preferences and empathy and attitudes toward violence. The children played a violent or nonviolent video game and then responded to vignettes about everyday occurrences. Vignette responses were coded for aggression and empathy. Preexisting empathy and attitudes towards violence were positively related to the corresponding vignette scores. Long-term exposure to violent video games contributed to lower empathy vignette scores. Playing a violent versus a nonviolent game did not affect vignette responses. Results suggest that long-term exposure to violent video games may be associated with desensitization as reflected in lower empathy, although the direction of causality remains unclear. Read more...