The debate has raged for years about whether more exposure to on-screen violence leads to more real-life violence and aggression. That debate has narrowed over the last decade to studies of exposure specifically to violent video games.
Psychologist Craig Anderson (the Center for the Study of Violence at Iowa State University) and a team of researchers recently released a report detailing a meta-analysis of studies exploring various aspects of video gaming and violence. The submitted draft of the report, published in the March Psychological Bulletin, is available online if you want to check out the details and method. You can also read a summary from U.S. News & World Report.
The basic conclusion of the meta-analysis is that increased exposure to violent video gaming does in fact lead to increased aggressive thinking, feeling, and behavior, as well as overall physiological arousal, and decline in “prosocial” (helping) behavior and empathy. This is true for both genders, and seems to be true for both short-term and long-term play. Interestingly enough, Japanese studies found similar results to U.S. studies.
The research team feels strongly that this is a conclusive study, authoratively answering the question about violent gaming and violent thinking, feeling, and acting. A larger and more complex question seems to be, what do we do about it? This is an issue that churches and more specifically, youth leaders and youth organizations should be looking to address.