Study: Violent games lead to drug, alcohol abuse

***wraggster*** · April 11th, 2006, 19:01

Via Gamespot

Anti-game activists got another bit of ammunition today, courtesy of a study published in The Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. The study, which was jointly conducted by San Francisco- and Pittsburgh-based researchers, came to the conclusion that playing violent video games leads to "permissive attitudes toward violence, alcohol use, marijuana use, and sexual activity without condom use."

The study, titled "Effects of Media Violence on Health-Related Outcomes Among Young Men," was based on a sampling of 100 male undergraduate students aged 18 to 21 years. It randomly assigned the subjects to play one of two video games--VU Games' The Simpsons: Hit & Run and Grand Theft Auto III. Subjects were selected so that the test group would have "differing amounts of lifetime home and community violence."

The study's conclusions? "Men randomly assigned to play Grand Theft Auto III exhibited greater increases in diastolic blood pressure from a baseline rest period to game play, greater negative affect, more permissive attitudes toward using alcohol and marijuana, and more uncooperative behavior in comparison with men randomly assigned to play The Simpsons," read the report.

It stated that specifically "only among participants with greater exposure to home and community violence, play of Grand Theft Auto III led to elevated systolic blood pressure in comparison with play of The Simpsons." The report continuted, "Although youth growing up in violent homes and communities may become more physiologically aroused by media violence exposure, all youth appear to be at risk for potentially negative outcomes."

The report ran in the same issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine as an article that assesed the rating scheme of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB). Titled "Content and Ratings of Mature-Rated Video Games," the study gave a mixed report card to the ESRB.

"Although the Entertainment Software Rating Board content descriptors for violence and blood provide a good indication of such content in the game, we identified 45 observations of content that could warrant a content descriptor in 29 games (81 percent) that lacked these content descriptors," read the report.

**Apoklepz** · April 11th, 2006, 19:32

The title reads..."Study: Violent games lead to drug, alcohol abuse"

..forgot to squeeze in "Good for nothing, Irresponsible Parents who don't see a T or M rating on the box" up there next to Violent games.

Seriously...I somewhat have to agree with the article, but a simple game will not influence you to kill, $#@!, do drugs or committ other crimes if you are in the ages of 16 and up....There's something deeper at work inside an individual during this age and it's called free will. Now...this free will is mostly encouraged by the individual's surroundings such as family & friends and possibly very little by media. Why? Because everybody knows what's wrong or right since the ages of four to ten , and if they don't...then the parents are to blame. Besides, media always blames itself...A product comes out, (example*some bloody game) the kid buys it (through a bad parenting decision, or vise versa) the kid plays it, & a couple of days later sticks a pencil in the neck of a classmate. I'm sorry but it wasn't the kids fault, but the parent's, who failed to see their actions between the lines. This kid was probably never taught right from wrong (parent's fault twice) and was probably raised inside a conflictive, hateful environment (parent's fault a third time...third strike, you're out!) Then later come the news....the complaining anti-game people...more stupid parents buying the media for their un-raised kids....Put in washer and spin, recycle, make the headlines(MEDIA) and eventually blame the game.

People don't realize it, but....this is why the Internet, News, Magazines, etc...MEDIA exist. TO HELP YOU PICK RIGHT FROM WRONG WHAT MEDIA YOU WISH TO BUY,SEE,EAT,SH*T,ETC....

But, being such comsumers that we are, we go and grab it of the shelves on the first day without having heared a written or voiced opinion on the media itself. Then if it's bad....watch out! Here comes the complaining again!

A game can't make an action by itself. Don't blame the game when it's the players influence that make the actions...

Society is also to blame...Just my two cents.

**DCDayDreamer** · April 11th, 2006, 20:12

About eight years ago I woke up in a graveyard, I was stoned, there was empty bottles of booze scattered everywhere, there were two strange ladies still asleep on each of my arms...

I don't remember what the hell happened but the previous day I'd been playing Resident Evil, do you think I should take out a lawsuit against Capcom?.

To hell with that!, I think I'll send them a thankyou letter!.

**mrplug** · April 11th, 2006, 20:16

i really dont care about this stuff anymore, no matter how much you defend somthing, someone somewhere will always complain. Though im against one game, WOW lost too many friends to it, now if that where on psp it would allow them to be moblie and prolly not gain weight, and enable them to attend class their paying for, YOU PEOPLE KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!

**paco1984** · April 11th, 2006, 20:46

yeah well i dont understand what all these dumb-ass tests or studies do... if anything the people in the studies should be the focus point. becouse they should find out what makes someone so vulnerable to change the way they are just couse they shot or punched someone in a game. ive been playing violent ass games all my life and i have never done any kind of drugs and i dont drink.and alot of the people i play games with are al sober and clean too. i think theres a room full of lifeless weiners that just sit in a room and come up with ideas that they think will make them sound important and proving that games are the devil will do so.

**RedKing14CA** · April 11th, 2006, 20:58

Violence in video games incourages sex without condoms???

So you log onto your computer, and play Soldier of Fortune too (with all the cheats) and are blowing peoples arms, legs, and heads off... hearing their gargled screams from the stump that was their head.... being exposed to a massive amounts of violence...

you're mate walks in.. all the sudden you grab him or her, throw them on your bed, and say "alright, i just played a violent video game, so without any protection this time"

**Dull Blade** · April 11th, 2006, 21:09

Boo on these anti video game activists. Blaming video games, is a horrible idea, even if they didn't have the video games they still probably would of done drugs. When I was 5 years old, my brother (15 at the time) bought the genesis version of Mortal Kombat 1 and I often played against him. 11 years lator, I'm 16 and do I go around ripping peoples heads off and removing their hearts, NO. Now I own all most all the MK series, and I am still havent uppercuted some one into a bed of spikes.

**Ennohex** · April 11th, 2006, 22:36

Are they still flogging that SAME dead horse?

**alterdimension** · April 12th, 2006, 00:30

When it comes to mental illness, the mentally ill tend to focus on violence because to a mentally ill person and really everybody, violence is the dominant force. They would carry with them and make it part of them and if not corrected, act on it later. If someone is going to develop a mental illness, They will carry violent and violent imagery with them also and act on it later. Especially with childrenn who are very impressionable. Grand theft auto III is just an example of a game really can make criminals out of people.

**jman420** · April 12th, 2006, 01:22

ok, I will have to object! When I'm stoned, the last thing I want to play is a violent game, most of them are to complicated to even play when your baked outa your mind.. I prefer Games likw Worms Armageddon, Y's, Final Fantasy 7, 8, or 9.. I dont sit around and toke to play Postal 2....

however I will admit there is a connection between Marijuana and Video Games.. for most people, getting stoned is a way to have fun in their otherwise boring lives, and when you get stoned, you want to do somthing fun.. games and movies are about the only fun things to do that dont require a lot of work-intellegence to watch-play.. the last thing you'll find a stoner playing would be Rainbow Six 3: Lockdown.. that game gets hard when your stoned, because people just run up and start shooting you..

either way, in summation.. I would say that study is totaly false.. its not violent games, its all games.. and I think that these retards that do these studys should get a new job studying how Marijuana realy has no effect on the human brain, and should be legalized.. Thank you!
Jman420

P.S. according to last nights study, I thought that Video games were supposed to improve your chances of getting-getting someone else pregnant.. I can tell you, I wouldnt quite be in the mood if I was drunk and stoned, and playing doom 3...