The Impact of Degree of Exposure to Violent Video Games, Family Background, and Other Factors on Youth Violence

Abstract

Despite decades of study, no scholarly consensus has emerged regarding whether violent video games contribute to youth violence. Some skeptics contend that small correlations between violent game play and violence-related outcomes may be due to other factors, which include a wide range of possible effects from gender, mental health, and social influences. The current study examines this issue with a large and diverse (49 % white, 21 % black, 18 % Hispanic, and 12 % other or mixed race/ethnicity; 51 % female) sample of youth in eighth (n = 5133) and eleventh grade (n = 3886). Models examining video game play and violence-related outcomes without any controls tended to return small, but statistically significant relationships between violent games and violence-related outcomes. However, once other predictors were included in the models and once propensity scores were used to control for an underlying propensity for choosing or being allowed to play violent video games, these relationships vanished, became inverse, or were reduced to trivial effect sizes. These results offer further support to the conclusion that video game violence is not a meaningful predictor of youth violence and, instead, support the conclusion that family and social variables are more influential factors.

Appendix

Indicators used in propensity score construction

The following is a list of variables used for the construction of the propensity scores. Some of these are multiple response questions, resulting in a total of 171 indicators (counting each mark all that apply response separately) used. Exact question wording and response categories are available from the authors upon request.

Free-lunch; age; gender; race and ethnicity; are either of your parents or other adults (18 years or older) in your family serving on active duty in the military?; which of the following people live with you most of the time? (list of family member-relations); which of the people who live with you right now work to earn money to pay the bills and buy the food? (same list as previous); how old is your mother?; how old is your father?; what is the highest level of schooling your mother or female guardian completed?; what is the highest level of schooling your father or male guardian completed?; have you been identified by a doctor or other health-care professional as having difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions or doing things because of a physical, learning, or emotional disability? (list of disabilities); has your family experienced any of the following in the past year? (list of economic hardship indicators); have you had lessons in school about…? (substance use education and healthy relationships); have any of your family members been incarcerated (in a prison or detention center) in the past year? (list of family member-relations); how much schooling do you think you will complete?; are you deaf or do you have serious difficulty hearing?; do you have serious difficulty seeing, even when wearing glasses?; because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, do you have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions?; do you have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs?; my parents know where I am when I am not in school; I feel safe in my neighborhood; I feel safe in my school; teachers here treat students with respect; I get along well with my parents/guardians; students here treat teachers with respect; students in this school are well-behaved in public (classes, assemblies, cafeterias); student violence is a problem at this school; school rules are fair; school rules are strictly enforced; my parents’/guardians’ rules are strictly enforced; how often do you hear name-calling, threats or yelling between adults in your home that makes you feel bad?; hear or see violence between adults in your home?; see or hear a media message about the risks of teens drinking alcohol?; does anybody living in your home smoke cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, pipe or other tobacco products? (list of family member-relations); if you wanted to get cigarettes, where would you most likely get them? (list of relationships); do you take any medicine by prescription to help you concentrate better in school?; do you take any medicine by prescription for any of the following? (list of conditions); I know where students my age can buy… (list of substances); how much do people risk harming themselves (physically and other ways) when they: (list of substances and amounts); how often do you: get hit by an adult who intends to hurt you?; get hit by another teen with the intention of hurting you?; see crime in your neighborhood?; see drug sales in your neighborhood?; get bullied in your neighborhood?; get threatened or harassed electronically?; which of the following people give you a lot of support and encouragement? (list of relationships); which of the following are true for you? (statements about being able to trust and help people); during an average week, do you participate in organized activities at any of the following? (list of clubs and organizations); my parent/guardian shows me they are proud of me; my parent/guardian takes an interest in my activities; my parent/guardian listens to me when I talk to them; I can count on my parent/guardian to be there when I need them; my parent/guardian and I talk about the things that really matter; I am comfortable sharing my thoughts and feelings with my parent/guardian; how often did you feel really sad?; how often did you feel really worried?; how often did you feel afraid?; how often did you have trouble relaxing?; how often did you feel nervous?; how much time do you spend on a school day (before and after school): online on a computer (not for school work), tablet, phone, watching TV, or playing computer/video games?; doing school work at home?; reading for pleasure (not a school assignment)?; during the past 7 days: how many times did you drink 100 % fruit juices such as orange juice, apple juice or grape juice?; how many times did you eat fruit?; how many times did you eat green salad?; how many times did you eat other vegetables?; how many times did you drink a can, bottle, or glass of soda or pop, such as Coke, Pepsi, or Sprite?; how many glasses of milk did you drink?; how many times did you drink a caffeinated drink such as coffee, tea, sodas, power drinks, energy drinks, or other drinks with caffeine added?; on an average school night, how many hours of sleep do you get?; how many text messages do you send on an average day?; how many days in an average week do you eat breakfast?; during the past 7 days, on how many days were you physically active for a total of at least 60 min per day?; in the past year, my parents have (list of positive and negative parental activities)