Be in the vicinity of every 10 children, that they play video games addictive and pathological players can develop a variety of mental health problems if not properly handled their dependency claims, a new study, published in the February 2011 the journal of Pediatrics.
The study analyses Explorer 3.034 students, on the third to the eighth year in 12 different schools in Singapore. They discovered that 83% of these children regularly played games and found that 9% of them pathological player with standards were similar to those of the American Psychiatric Association diagnostic which looks after the game.
"As soon as they are addicted, pathological players were rather increased social phobias, suffer from depression and anxiety." "And they get the poorest classes in school," said Douglas Gentile, Professor of Psychology at the University of Iowa State and one of the researchers in the study involved Sunday.
"So, it seems, that gambling is not simply a symptom of depression, anxiety or social phobia" Gentile, who leads the Iowa State also media research lab, added. "In fact seem these problems to increase, as children become more addicted." In addition is reduced, dependent child is arrested, depression, anxiety and social phobia as well as. »
According to Gentile, between 7 and 11% of the players in the world's countries are as pathological, which means that they "several areas of their lives must be harmful by their habit". The United States considered 8.5% of the players addicted, according to the State University of Iowa.
Are these people on average played 31 hours per week, compared to 19 for these players do not have reporter Elizabeth Lopatto in a Monday article considered pathological, mentioned Bloomberg.
"This study is important because we knew that this research when of children at risk higher, how long the problem takes certain types or pathological gambling was a separate issue or just a symptom of other problems such as such as depression," said Angeline Khoo, Associate Professor of psychological studies at the National Institute of education Singapore and principal investigator of the project as a whole.
Some experts, Mark Griffiths, Director of the Department of international game at Nottingham Trent University, are the study of Pediatrics questions.
"My own research has shown that excessive video game playing is not necessarily drawing and can play many video players on a longer, without any side-effects negative," Griffiths said Frederik Joelving of Reuters Health via e-Mail. "If nine percent of the children would really addicted to video games it clinical video game searches in all major cities!"