This study was designed to compare how 5- to 13-year-old children's leisure activity preferences differ with age and gender. Responses from 60 boys and 60 girls about their favorite toys, television shows, computer games, and outdoor activities were compared across leisure categories. The results showed that gender was a significant factor. Overall, boys spent more time in these leisure activities than girls did. They spent the most time engaged in sports, watching television, and playing computer games, whereas girls spent the most time watching television. Results from a gender index for all activities indicated that boys' leisure preferences became slightly more masculine with age. For girls, preferences for television shows became more feminine with age, but preferences for toys, computer games, and sports became less feminine. These self-chosen preferences may provide differential opportunities for the development of visual-spatial skills, achievement, initiative, self-regulation, and social skills. Read more...

Objective: To assess developmental trends in physical activity and sedentary behaviour in British adolescents in relation to sex, ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES).Design: A 5-year longitudinal study of a diverse cohort of students aged 11 - 12 years at baseline in 1999.Setting: 36 London schools sampled using a stratified random sampling procedure.Participants: A total of 5863 students categorised as white, black or Asian, and stratified for SES using the Townsend Index.Main outcome measures: Number of days per week of vigorous activity leading to sweating and breathing hard. Hours of sedentary behaviour, including watching television and playing video games. Data were analysed using multilevel, linear, mixed models.Results: Marked reductions in physical activity and increases in sedentary behaviour were noticed between ages 11 - 12 and 15 - 16 years. Boys were more active than girls, and the decline in physical activity was greater in girls (46% reduction) than in boys (23%). Asian students were less active than whites, and this was also true of black girls but not boys. Black students were more sedentary than white students. Levels of sedentary behaviour were greater in respondents from lower SES. Most differences between ethnic and SES groups were present at age 11 years, and did not evolve over the teenage years.Conclusions: Physical activity declines and sedentary behaviour becomes more common during adolescence. Ethnic and SES differences are observed in physical activity and sedentary behaviour in British youth that anticipate adult variations in adiposity and cardiovascular disease risk. These are largely established by age 11 - 12 years, so reversing these patterns requires earlier intervention. Read more...

While much literature on girls and video games offers games for girls as presenting an empowerment through the possibility f or girls of active engagement and the possibility of honing skills to win, this paper argues that things are not so simple. Based on a study of children between the ages of 8 and 11 playing video games in after school clubs in Sydney, Australia, the paper argues that most video games are one site for the production of contemporary masculinity. On this basis it is argued that girls playing games have to negotiate complex performances which demand qualities traditionally ascribed to masculinity alongside those ascribed to femininity. This produces difficulties for girls in competing to win while at the same time displaying sensitivity, caring, and co-operation. This is discussed by analysing what happens when some girls play. Read more...

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This study examined how computer-game preference relates to mental-rotation test (MRT) performance and to gender differences. Subjects were 861 German secondary-school children (mean age = 14.67; range 10-20 years). Latent class analysis with the data of a computer-game preference scale revealed three types of players: "non-players", "action-and-simulation game players" and "logic-and-skill-training game players". Large gender differences were found with respect to class assignment. More females than males were found in the "logic-and-skill-training game player" class (82.9%) and in the class of "non-players" (81.9%). Males in contrast were overrepresented (81.7%) in the class of "action-and-simulation game players". As expected, males on average outperformed females in mental-rotation test performance (d = 0.63). Furthermore, ANOVA results indicated mean differences in mental-rotation ability between action-and-simulation players and non-players (partial eta(2) = .01) as well as age differences (partial eta(2) =.04). With boys, non-players on average had lower MRT scores than action-and-simulation game players. For females, computer-game preference was unrelated to MRT performance. Results are discussed within a nature-nurture-interactionist framework of gender differences in spatial abilities. Read more...

Objectives: Excessive 'screen time' has been associated with a range of psychosocial disturbances and increasing pediatric obesity. This study describes the magnitude, distribution, composition and time-distribution of children's screen use; examines correlates of screen use; and characterises 'extreme' screen users (top quartile). Methods: 1,039 South Australian children aged 10-13 years old completed a multimedia 24-hour activity recall diary on 2-4 occasions in 2002, including at least one school day and one non-school day. Results: The median screen time was 229 minutes.d(-1). This was higher in boys (264 vs. 196 minutes; p < 0.001) and on non-school days (260 vs. 190 minutes; p < 0.001), increased with age (p=0.003), and decreased with socio-economic status (SES; p=0.003). Television consumed 73% of all screen time, video games 19%, non-game computer use 6%, and cinema 2%. The top quartile of screen users were more likely to be boys (OR=3.8), have low physical activity (OR=4.3), spend > 25% of screen time playing video games (OR=1.8), sleep less, and be of lower SES. Conclusions and Implications: Interventions to reduce screen time should target inactive, low-SES boys, encourage earlier bedtimes, and limit video game use. Read more...

One current theory of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) proposes that a primary deficit in behavioral inhibition gives rise to secondary deficits in 4 executive functions and motor control. To date, empirical support for this model is based primarily on laboratory-based cognitive methods. This study assessed behavioral inhibition and executive functioning in children with ADHD in 2 real-life contexts: videogames (motor-skill target game, cognitively demanding adventure game) and an outing at the zoo (route tasks). Participants were a community sample of 57 boys diagnosed with ADHD (20 inattentive, 37 combined type) and 57 normally developing control boys, matched individually for age and nonverbal IQ. Operationally defined measures of behavioral inhibition and specific executive functions were derived from these activities and assessed under contrasting conditions of low or high working memory and distractor loads. There were no group differences in basic motor skills on the target game, nor in terms of the ability to inhibit a prepotent or ongoing response in the adventure videogame. However, boys with ADHD exhibited more self-talk, more effortful response preparation, and completed fewer challenges in the latter videogame. Also, they manifested inhibition deficits in terms of interference control during the route task at the zoo and took longer to complete the tasks. Typically, these differences were greatest under conditions of high working memory and distractor loads. Findings from this study suggest that cognitive difficulties in ADHD may be context dependent and that ADHD is associated with deficits in some but not all aspects of behavioral inhibition. Read more...

In this study, we examined gender differences in video game use by focusing on interpersonal needs for inclusion, affection, and control, as well as socially constructed perceptions of gendered game play. Results of a large-scale survey (n = 534) of young adults' reasons for video game use, preferred game genres, and amount of game play are reported. Female respondents report less frequent play, less motivation to play in social situations, and less orientation to game genres featuring competition and three-dimensional rotation. Implications for game design are discussed. Read more...

On average, girls and women are less involved with video games than are boys and men, and when they do play, they often prefer different games, This article reports two studies that investigated the dislikes of German females with regard to video games. Study I applied conjoint analysis to female respondents' (N=317) ratings of fictional video games and demonstrated that lack of meaningful social interaction, followed by violent content and sexual gender role stereotyping of game characters, were the most important reasons why females disliked the games. Study 2, an online survey (N=795), revealed that female respondents were less attracted to competitive elements in video games, suggesting an explanation for gender-specific game preferences, These findings are discussed with respect to communication theory on interactive entertainment and their implications for applied video game design. Read more...

Previous results suggested that female college students' scores on the Mental Rotations Test might be related to their prior experience with spatial tasks. For example, women who played video games scored better on the test than their non-game-playing peers, whereas playing video games was not related to men's scores. The present study examined whether participation in different types of spatial activities would be related to women's performance on the Mental Rotations Test. 31 men and 59 women enrolled at a small, private church-affiliated university and majoring in art or music as well as students who participated in intercollegiate athletics completed the Mental Rotations Test. Women's scores on the Mental Rotations Test benefitted from experience with spatial activities; the more types of experience the women had, the better their scores. Thus women who were athletes, musicians, or artists scored better than those women who had no experience with these activities. The opposite results were found for the men. Efforts are currently underway to assess how length of experience and which types of experience are related to scores. Read more...