Video Games' Clear Link to Aggression.

• Position: BEHAVIOR

Playing violent video games is associated with increases in physical aggression over time in children and teens, according to an analysis of 24 studies from around the world involving more than 17,000 participants by researchers at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.

The analysis, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analyzed a broad range of existing literature on how violent video game play affected changes in real-world aggression over time. Although most researchers on the subject agree that playing violent video games appears to increase physical aggression, a vocal minority continues to dispute this, the researchers wrote.

"Although no single research project is definitive, our research aims to provide the most-current and -compelling responses to key criticisms on this topic," says lead author Jay Hull, professor of psychological and brain sciences and associate dean of faculty for the social sciences. "Based on our findings, we feel it is clear that violent video game play is associated with subsequent increases in physical aggression."

The researchers in the studies analyzed by the Dartmouth team tracked physical aggression among users of violent video games for periods ranging from three months to four years.

Examples of physical...