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Young Children's Video/Computer Game Use: Relations with School Performance and Behavior

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This study examined the amount and content of children's video game playing in relation with behavioral and academic outcomes. Relationships among playing context, child gender, and parental monitoring were explored. Data were obtained through parent report of child's game play, behavior, and school performance. Results revealed that time spent playing games was related positively to aggression and negatively to school competence. Violent content was correlated positively and educational content negatively with attention problems. Educational games were related to good academic achievement. Results suggest violent games, and a large amount of game play, are related to troublesome behavioral and academic outcomes, but educational games may be related to positive outcomes. Neither gender nor parental monitoring emerged as significant moderators of these effects.
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... Playing cooperative games, role-playing games, and games made to enhance empathy have been found to have the potential to improve empathy further [82][83][84][85]. This is a significant finding as empathy is closely linked to attachment and can protect against the aggressive behavior brought on by violent video games [86][87][88]. ...
... Furthermore, differences in videogame genres may lead to differential effects on players' cognitive abilities [89][90][91][92][93]. Some research indicates that five factors in each videogame determine how it will affect its players, with the factors being the content, the context, the structure, the mechanics, and the amount of play [83][84][85][86]94]. Other researchers have also added that the game environment, whether two-or three-dimensional, and engagement factor play a role in determining the effect on cognition [87,88]. ...
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... Playing cooperative games, role-playing games, and games made to enhance empathy have been found to have the potential to improve empathy further [82][83][84][85]. This is a significant finding as empathy is closely linked to attachment and can protect against the aggressive behavior brought on by violent video games [86][87][88]. ...
... Furthermore, differences in videogame genres may lead to differential effects on players' cognitive abilities [89][90][91][92][93]. Some research indicates that five factors in each videogame determine how it will affect its players, with the factors being the content, the context, the structure, the mechanics, and the amount of play [83][84][85][86]94]. Other researchers have also added that the game environment, whether two-or three-dimensional, and engagement factor play a role in determining the effect on cognition [87,88]. ...
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