Scientists have found significantly increased signs of depression among preteens with high daily exposure to violent video games.
Researchers recorded significantly more depressive symptoms over the course of a year among fifth-graders from three US cities who reported playing high-violence video games for two or more hours a day, compared to those who reported playing low-violence video games for less than two hours a day.
This association was consistent across all racial/ethnic subgroups and among boys, according to the study results.
The researchers included Susan R Tortolero and coauthors from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
The study is published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.
