4 Troubled Teens Blog

Parents who are concerned that their children may be prone to video game addiction may be interested in a new study from the University of Pittsburgh

Pitt researchers under the direction of Dr. Kirk Erickson found that people whose brains have certain larger-than-average structures are better at playing video games.

Dr. Erickson used magnetic resonance imaging to track brain activity in 39 people playing a video game called Space Fortress. Those who had enlarged caudate nucleus and nucleus accumbens in their brains were able to learn new skills easier and to score higher.

Labels: brain_function, video_games

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Naresh (not his real name) is 15-years-old and lives in Mumbai, India. According to an Aug. 24 Rediff Business article, Naresh spends eight to ten hours a day playing Internet-based computer games.

His parents have tried everything to get him to cut back, but attempts to cut access to the Internet or his computer have resulted in threats to run away or commit suicide. Writer Leslie D'Monte reports that Naresh is showing symptoms of being addicted to the Internet:

While mental health experts agree that the Internet has provided valuable service to people looking for support groups and treatment options through websites, newsgroups and email lists, they also caution that Internet surfing, gaming and texting can become an addiction akin to "being on drugs".

A survey of British Internet users, in fact, uses the term "discomgoogolation" to refer to a distressing condition, characterized by anxiety and stress at not being able to access the Internet.

These users showed changes in brain activity and blood pressure. An editorial last year in the American Journal of Psychiatry stated that internet addiction is a common compulsive/ impulsive disorder that should be added to the psychiatry's official guidebook of mental disorders which will be updated in 2012.

Though some parents may be hesitant to describe their children's computer obsessions as addictions, evidence is mounting to support the belief that people can, indeed, be addicted to video games and the Internet.

Labels: video_games, addictions, internet

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People who call themselves video game addicts are more likely to be sleepy during the day, according to a new study from the University of Arkansas.

Dr. Amanda Woolems and her colleagues studied 137 students, of whom 12 percent classified themselves as being addicted to playing games on computers or consoles.

"Our statistics revealed that those who admitted addiction scored higher on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale," Dr. Woolems said during her presentation at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. "It surprised us, however, that of the people who admitted being addicted to gaming, only about a third of them recognized it as an interference with sleep."

Failure to get adequate amounts of sleep and spending excessive amounts of time playing video games have both been associated with a number of unhealthy outcomes among adolescents and teenagers.

Labels: video_games, sleep, teens

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A study of 1,178 young people between the ages of eight and 18 years old found that 88 percent played video games, and almost one in ten shows several symptoms of being addicted to them.

The study, which was led by Dr. Douglas Gentile of the University of Iowa, found that 12 percent of the boys and 8 percent of the girls who played games had at least six out of eleven symptoms of addiction. Those who were addicted to the games were twice as likely to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Children had signs of addiction if they agreed to the following statements:

• They skipped homework to play games.


• They played to escape their problems.


• They were restless and irritable if not allowed to play.


• They lied about how much they played.


• They had stolen a game or stolen money for a game.


• They had poor test scores because they neglected homework to play video games.


• They had tried to quit and failed.


• They thought excessively about gaming.

Though many enthusiasts incorrectly employ the word "addiction" when discussing the object of their passion, video game addiction has been identified as a legitimate mental health disorder that can be treated with effective professional intervention.

Labels: video_games, addictions, teens, adolescent

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A Canadian teenager has been missing for over a week. He ran away from home after his father barred him from playing his favorite video game because his grades had been falling.

"Dr. Lawrence Kutner, co-author of Grand Theft Childhood, stresses that video games themselves are not the root of a problem, but instead can be symptomatic of more profound issues. 'If you have a child doing anything obsessively, chances are there is something else going on,' said Dr. Kutner... 'In essence, it's a way of self-medicating,' he said."

A parent who feels a child is too wrapped up in a video game should ask the child's teachers if they've noticed any recent changes in behavior or school performance. If there have been changes, the parent should seek help for the child. Source: National Post (Canada)

Labels: video_games, runaways, consequences

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Children exposed to violence in video games, television and movies are more likely to be violent both short- and long-term, according to a study from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Rowell Huesmann compared the public health effect of media violence to exposure to cigarette smoke, asbestos and lead. He examined 41 media violence studies done between 1963 and 2007 and found that exposure raises the chances that a person will commit violent acts immediately and in the future.

He explained that the mass media has made violence available to a broad population.

"It is not just kids in bad neighborhoods or with bad friends who are exposed to bad things when they go out on the street," he explained. "A 'virtual' bad street is easily available to most youth now."

This study appears in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Labels: violence, video_games, virtual_worlds

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Boys perform more poorly in school than girls because they play too many video games, according to a study from Statistics Canada's Community Health Survey.

• The study found that 76% of the boys had played video games in the previous three months compared to only 35% of girls.
• About 16% of the boys played more than 11 hours of video games a week during that time compared to only 2% of the girls. 
• The long hours that the boys spent playing video games cut down on time spent reading.
• Among the heaviest users of video games, 27% said they had not read anything over the past three months. 
• Children who spent a lot of time watching television or on the computer tended to read more often than the most active video gamers.

Among the children ages 12 to 19 years old, twice as many girls --or 45% -- read for 11 or more hours per week compared to the boys. 

"Given the amount of time that young boys spent playing video games versus the amount of time that they read, the data may offer some insight as to why boys are performing less well than girls in high school," according to Jack Jebwab, author of the study.

Excessive video gaming and obsessive Internet use have been identified as risk factors and symptoms of a range of problematic issues among children, adolescents and teens.
 

Labels: video_games, internet, boys

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