A recent study conducted over at Yale University in America and published in the November issue of Pediatrics has found that – surprise! – gaming isn’t destroying the moral and social fabric of society. Quite on the contrary, in fact, the study of 4000 students determined that boys who played games had a higher grade point average, were less likely to smoke cigarettes or marijuana, and were also less likely to drink alcohol than their non-gamer peers.
Girl gamers, on the other hand, were generally found to be more aggressive than their peers, and more likely to carry a weapon onto school grounds and get themselves into fights. However, it was also noted that this wasn’t an effect of gaming, but rather that aggressive girls were more attracted to violent games. It’s probably true – there’s a mass grave just next to my swimming pool.
Both male and female gamers tend to consume caffeine, but girls were found to drink up to three or more units compared to the boys’ one or two.
“The study suggests that, in and of itself, gaming does not appear to be dangerous to kids,” said study author and associate professor of psychiatry and public health over of Yale’s School of Medicine, Rani Desai. “We found virtually no association between gaming and negative health behaviours, particularly in boys. However, a small but not insignificant portion of kids find themselves unable to control their gaming. That’s cause for concern because that inability is associated with a lot of other problem behaviors.”
Such impulse issues were identified in approximately 5% of respondents, but as Christopher J. Ferguson, assistant professor of clinical and forensic psychology at Texas A&M noted, “Problem gaming may be part of a constellation of unhealthy behaviours” and “if a child can’t turn off the games after a reasonable amount of time, isn’t doing homework, isn’t socialising with other kids — all [of that] can be signs of a problem that may need to be addressed.” These behaviours were also more likely to manifest in boys than girls.
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