Center on Media and Child Health

Research Toolbox: CMCH Database- Advanced Search

The CMCH Database of Research (DoR) can be searched using three different tools: Advanced Search, Guided Search, and Browse by CMCH Subject. Today were are going to explore the Advanced Search function and try out an example search for violence and video games. 

• Step One: Go to the CMCH DoR Advanced Search page. Here you can enter your search criteria by typing the word(s) you’d like to search into the text boxes. You can narrow or broaden your search by connecting words using the Boolean operators OR, AND, NOT. Using the drop-down menu you can limit the fields that are searched to Subject term, Abstract, Title, Journal, Author, or Source of Funding or you can keep your search broad by choosing All fields. 

• Step Two: Searches can be limited by Age Group, Study Design, Publication Type, and Year. Simply click on the specific age group, study design, etc that you would like to limit your search to. You can choose as many or as few limits as you’d like. Also, you can limit your search to Peer-reviewed or CMCH Authors. 

• Step Three: After all your search criteria is entered click Search Now to see your results. If you have too many or too few results you can go back and revise your search to make it broader or narrower. For example if you did not get many search results try going back and taking out some the limits you put in place.  

Now let's try out a real search! 

Example: 

I’ve decided that I want to do a search about violence and video games:

1. I enter the word violence into a search box and enter video games into another search box.
2.  I change the Boolean operator to AND, so that I am doing a search for violence AND video games. 
3. I leave the drop-down menu on All fields. 

I’d like to see if there have been any peer-reviewed experimental studies done with adolescents in the last five years:

1. I select the age group limit Adolescence (13-17) and the study design limit Experimental Study.
2. I do not limit the search by Publication Type. 
3. I select the years 2007-2012 by clicking on 2007 and then holding down the computer’s control key to click on the other years. Lastly, I limit the search by Peer-reviewed studies.

 Below is a screenshot of my search criteria (click for bigger image): 

Here are the six search results I got from this search: 

• Hummer, T. A., Wang, Y., Kronenberger, W.G., et al. (2010). Short-term violent video game play by adolescents alters prefrontal activity during cognitive inhibition. Media Psychology, 13(2), 136- 154.

• Nije Bijvank, M., Konijn, E.A., Bush, B.J., & Roelofsma, P.H.M.P. (2009). Age and violent-content labels make video games forbidden fruits for youth. Pediatrics, 123(3), 870-876.

• Barlett, C., Branch, O., Rodeheffer, C. & Harris, R. (2009). How long do the short-term violent video game effects last? Aggressive Behavior, 35, 225–236. 

• Gentile, D. A., Anderson, C.A., Yukawa, S., et al. (2009).  The effects of prosocial video games on prosocial behaviors: International evidence from correlational, longitudinal, and experimental studies.  Personality and  Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(6), 752-763. 

• Polman, H., de Castro, B. O. & van Aken, M. A. (2008). Experimental study of the differential effects of playing versus watching violent video games on children's aggressive behavior. Aggressive Behavior, 34, 256–264. 

• Konijn, E. A.,  Nije Bijvank, M. & Bushman, B.  (2007). I wish I were a warrior: The role of wishful identification in the effects of violent video games on aggression in adolescent boys. Developmental Psychology, 43(4), 1038-1044.

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Now go ahead and try out your own search! If you have any questions about the DoR  please do not hesitate to e-mail us at cmch@childrens.harvard.edu. 

Research Wrap-Up: Recently Published Studies-February 8

Check out recently published studies on children, media, and health which explore a range of topics:

Arvaniti, F., et al. (2011). Salty-snack eating, television or video-game viewing, and asthma symptoms among 10- to 12-year-old children: The PANACEA study. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 111(2), 251-257.

• This study found that salty-snack consumption was positively associated with the hours of television/video-game viewing. Consumption of salty snacks (>3 times/week vs never/rare) was associated with a 4.8-times higher likelihood of having asthma symptom.

Coyne, S.M.; Padilla-Walker, L.M. ; Stockdale, L.;& Day, R.D. (2011). Game on...girls: Associations between co-playing video games and adolescent behavioral and family outcomes. The Journal of Adolescent Health. Published online February 3.

• The study authors found that co-playing video games with parents was associated with decreased levels of internalizing and aggressive behaviors, and heightened prosocial behavior for girls.

Dovey, T.M.; Taylor, L.; Stow, R.; Boyland, E.J.; & Halford, J.C. (2011). Responsiveness to healthy television (TV) food advertisements/commercials is only evident in children under the age of seven with low food neophobia. Appetite, Online jan 20

• This study found that children with low levels of food neophobia (fear of trying new foods) appear to respond to healthy food messages but children with higher levels of food neophobia do not. Instead, high food neophobic children will continue to consume more chocolate following exposure to food adverts irrespective of the healthy or unhealthy message they contain.

Kanthan, R. & Senger, J-L. (2011). The impact of specially designed digital games-based learning in undergraduate pathology and medical education. Arch Pathol Lab Med, 135(1),135-42.

• This study found that specially constructed digital games-based learning in undergraduate pathology courses showed improved academic performance engagement, increased student engagement, enhanced personal learning, and reduced student stress.

Morgenstern, M.; Isensee, B.; Sargent, J.D.; &  Hanewinkel, R. (2011).Exposure to alcohol advertising and teen drinking. Preventive Medicine, 52(2),146-151.

• This study found a positive association between exposure to alcohol advertising and multiple youth drinking outcomes, showing that the association is content-specific, not just a function of general ad exposure.

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Use the free CMCH Database of Research to find other studies on children, media, and health.

Recent Questions on Ask the Mediatrician

If you haven't checked out Ask the Mediatrician lately, head on over to see these and other recent questions from parents and answers from Dr. Michael Rich, Director of CMCH:

• My son wants Call of Duty, but how do these games affect teen boys?
• Will my preschooler fall behind if she doesn't learn how to use the computer?
• Does multitasking with media distract kids from homework?

If you know of a website whose audience could benefit from the free Ask the Mediatrician service, send the webmaster these simple steps to add an Ask the Mediatrician button like the one below!

Using Digital Games to Improve Children's Learning and Health

How can we best use digital games to improve children's learning and health?  A new report entitled Game Changer: Investing in digital play to advance children's learning and health, by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, tackles this question with renewed vigor.

Digital games have been shown to aid in learning in particular contexts, but the question of how far this potential goes has yet to be fully explored. For that reason, in addition to discussing specific games that encourage physical health, development of healthy long-term habits, and disease management, the report calls for strategic investment in this field to maximize the potential of this technology.

The report also outlines a strategy of research and development, innovative partnerships, support for the adults who guide children's digital lives, modernization of public media, and increased public dialogue about digital media.

Will Technology in the Classroom Change How Kids Learn?

How and whether to use technology in K-12 classrooms is a highly debated topic. Although it is far from the norm in K-12 around the country, however, some educators are exploring the possibilities of classroom use of educational video games.

Virginia recently became the first state with a pilot program that uses Tabula Digita's video game DimensionM, both to improve student's math scores and to motivate them to learn. Recent research on this game concluded that playing it had a positive effect on student math achievement in a public high school setting.

Early this week, through a live chat on Education Week.org, Richard Van Eck, an associate professor in the instructional design and technology program at the University of North Dakota, addressed questions about when games should be explored as instructional tools, what advantages games bring to the classroom, and how to overcome obstacles that make game integration into curricula difficult. Professor Van Eck believes that digital game-based learning has the potential to be an exciting tool for educational purpose and offers a list of online resources, including k-12 games, organizations and research, and games and tools.

**Update:5/25/09** BusinessWeek listed CMCH blog Will Technology in the Classroom Change How Kids Learn? as one of the blogs which explores technology use in the classroom.

Don't Warn Parents about Harmful Effects of Video Game Violence?

In early January, Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA) reintroduced a bill in the California Congress that would require all video games rated T (Teen) or higher to include a label that reads "WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior."

The Entertainment Consumers Association has responded to the proposal by launching a campaign that has drummed up a good deal of support from gaming blogs. Despite the fact that the bill (and the sticker it proposes) would not restrict video game content, the ECA campaign attempts to show that the bill "is an unconstitutional restraint on speech that will harm consumers and parents alike." It also claims that "the vast majority of studies show that there is no proven causal link between violent media of any type and aggressive behavior."

The research, however, indicates otherwise. Lab-based research by Craig Anderson suggests that playing violent video games increases players' aggressive behavior and makes it more likely that they will deal with conflict aggressively. For more information, see the APA website, or see Chapter 11 of The Handbook of Children, Media, and Development, which reviews the most current research on the relationship between media violence and aggression in young people. 

Video Games Poised for Takeover

Mike Griffith, president and CEO of Activision (makers of wildly popular video game Guitar Hero), proclaimed in a recent press conference that video games are "poised to eclipse all other forms of entertainment in the decade ahead."

While sales of music, movie tickets, and DVDs have all dropped in the past 4 years, video game sales have sky-rocketed.  Griffith cites the games' interactive nature as being more interesting for consumers. 

Wii Wand Doesn't Increase Aggression...but Violent Video Games Do

After the release of "Manhunt II" for the Wii--in which players use a motion-detecting wand to punch, stab, and dismember other characters--many experts expressed concern over the potential effects of reinforcing such violent movements in video game play.

A study soon to be published in Computers and Human Behavior, however, did not find that using motion capture controls (like the Wii wand) adds to the increase in aggression that is linked to violent video games. This finding comes as a surprise to many experts, who believed that such wands were likely to exacerbate the games' negative effects.

The study did show that playing violent video games increased aggression regardless of the type of control used. It also addressed the question of whether people who are already more prone to aggression are more susceptible to such effects, and it seems that the answer is yes. For more information on the effects of violent video games and ways to alleviate them, see CMCH's page on video game violence.

Increased Fears about Video Game Addiction

November 13 brought the release of "World of Warcraft: The Wrath of the Lich King," an expansion of the hugely popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). According to the Telegraph, lines started forming 18 hours before the midnight release in London. This popularity has helped renew concerns about video game addiction.

The game's release follows on the heels of 15-year-old Brandon Crisp's death. The Toronto boy, whose funeral was held Friday, ran away from home after his parents took away his XBox to limit what they saw as obsessive gaming behavior. Several weeks later, his body was discovered in the woods, and he is believed to have died due to injuries from falling out of a tree.

These concurrent stories highlight what seems to be a growing international problem and parents' struggle over how to address it. For resources that address this issue, see February's Parent Perspective and the resources listed at the bottom of it. CMCH also offers suggestions for using video games safely.

More Links Between Violent Media and Aggression

Over the past 50 years, research has linked violent media exposure to increased aggression in young people. This month's Pediatrics adds two new studies to the mix: one on Internet violence and one on violent video games. Both recommend reducing or eliminating youth exposure to violent media.

One study found a link between being exposed to Internet violence and exhibiting seriously violent behavior, such as murder, assault, and robbery. The research showed that, with each additional type of violent site (e.g., hate sites, snuff sites, and sites showing satanic rituals) viewed, a youth's likelihood of reporting such behavior increased by 50%. In another finding described by CNN.com, young people who reported that " 'many, most or all' of the Internet sites they frequented featured 'real people fighting, shooting or killing' were five times more likely than their peers who didn't visit violent Web sites to engage in seriously violent behavior."

The second study further explores the connection between playing violent video games and increased aggression. It found that habitually playing violent video games increased young people's chances of being physically aggressive in the future, regardless of whether they already exhibited such behavior. It also showed that these effects occur across cultures (in this case, the U.S. and Japan)--even, as the researchers indicated, when the cultures display very different levels of violence.