The adverse effects from violent media on youth have long vexed the American public. For decades, scholars studied the impact that TV and film violence had on children, and concluded that high exposure to televised violence may lead to an increase in aggressive behaviors and desensitization (Eron, Huesmann, Lefkowitz, & Walder, 1972; Josephson, 1987; Huesmann, Moise-Titus, Podolski, & Eron, 2003). However, technological advancements in the video game industry changed the media landscape, and it was expected that video game violence would have similar, possibly greater, effects on youth as TV and film; thus, video games that stimulated aggressive attitudes, feelings, and behaviors in children were of specific concern.
Video games have become…