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Effects of Video-Game Ownership on Young Boys' Academic and Behavioral Functioning: A Randomized, Controlled Study Robert Weis and Brittany C. Cerankosky Psychological Science 2010 21: 463 originally published online 18 February 2010 DOI: 10.1177/0956797610362670 The online version of this article can be found at: http://pss.sagepub.com/content/21/4/463
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Effects of Video-Game Ownership on Young Boys’ Academic and Behavioral Functioning: A Randomized, Controlled Study
Psychological Science 21(4) 463–470 © The Author(s) 2010 Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0956797610362670 http://pss.sagepub.com
Robert Weis and Brittany C. Cerankosky Denison University
Abstract Young boys who did not own video games were promised a video-game system and child-appropriate games in exchange for participating in an “ongoing study of child development.” After baseline assessment of boys’ academic achievement and parentand teacher-reported behavior, boys were randomly assigned to receive the video-game system immediately or to receive the video-game system after follow-up assessment, 4 months later. Boys who received the system immediately spent more time playing video games and less time engaged in after-school academic activities than comparison children. Boys who received the system immediately also had lower reading and writing scores and greater teacher-reported academic problems at follow-up than comparison children. Amount of video-game play mediated the relationship between video-game ownership and academic outcomes. Results provide experimental evidence that video games may displace after-school activities that have educational value and may interfere with the development of reading and writing skills in some children. Keywords video games, academic achievement, children, time use Received 5/12/09; Revision accepted 8/18/09
Exposure to violent video games is associated with aggressive behavior among children (Anderson & Bushman, 2001; Carnagey, Anderson, & Bushman, 2007). Meta-analyses show significant associations between violent video-game play and aggressive thoughts (r = .27), feelings (r = .18), and actions (r = .20). These associations can be seen in experimental, correlational, and longitudinal studies involving children, adolescents, and adults (Anderson et al., 2008; Anderson, Gentile, & Buckley, 2007; Carnagey & Anderson, 2005). Furthermore, theoretical models based on learning, social cognitive, and neoassociative network theories have been developed to explain how violent video games might prime immediate aggressive behaviors and make them more accessible and appealing to children over time. Although parents and children are beginning to recognize the risks of overtly violent video-game exposure, the risks associated with less violent video games, particularly those marketed to young children, are not as evident (Kutner, Olson, Warner, & Hertzog, 2008). Emerging data indicate that video games marketed to young children may also have adverse effects on child development by interfering with academic functioning. Assuming that time spent in after-school activities is zero-sum, recreational video-game play may displace
activities that might have greater educational value (Vandewater, Bickham, & Lee, 2006). Indeed, recent studies have found significant relationships between the duration of video-game play and the academic performance of students in elementary school (Anderson et al., 2007), middle and high school (Gentile, 2009; Gentile, Lynch, Linder, & Walsh, 2004; Willoughby, 2008), and college (Anderson & Dill, 2000). Further support for the displacement hypothesis comes from several recent population-based studies that have monitored children’s time use. These studies indicate that children who own video games spend more time playing these games, spend less time engaged in after-school educational activities, and earn lower grades than comparison children (Schmidt & Vandewater, 2008). For example, Sharif and Sargent (2006) found that middle-school students’ exposure to video games on weekdays, but not weekends, was associated with their academic performance. Similarly, Valentine, Marsh, and Pattie (2005) determined that adolescents’ after-school video-game Corresponding Author: Robert Weis, Department of Psychology, Denison University, Granville, OH 43023 E-mail:
[email protected]
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play competed with the time they devoted to studying. In their analysis, video-game exposure was associated with decreased academic achievement scores on standardized tests. Most recently, Cummings and Vandewater (2007) found that videogame players spent 30% less time reading and 34% less time completing homework than did children who did not play video games. Data supporting the displacement hypothesis are limited by the fact that they have been obtained chiefly through crosssectional research (Cummings & Vandewater, 2007). It is possible that struggling students may simply decide to spend less time reading and completing homework and more time playing video games. Without data from randomized, controlled studies that monitor children’s functioning over time, we cannot infer a causal relationship between video-game ownership, increased play, and changes in academic performance. To remedy this limitation, we conducted a randomized, controlled study of the short-term effects of video-game ownership on the academic and behavioral functioning of young boys. At baseline, none of the boys owned a video-game system, but all of their parents expressed an interest in purchasing a system for them. To control for participant bias, we told parents that the purpose of the study was to examine boys’ development, not to study the effects of video-game ownership. Parents were promised a video-game system as incentive for participation. After baseline assessment of boys’ functioning, families were randomly assigned to an experimental group, in which members received the video-game system immediately, or to a control group, in which members received the system 4 months later, after follow-up assessment. Evidence supporting displacement would come from significant differences in boys’ duration of video-game usage, duration of after-school academic activities, and academic achievement as a function of experimental condition. Additional support would come from data showing video-game play mediating the relationship between experimental condition and achievement outcomes. We also examined whether boys in the experimental group showed more behavior problems at follow-up than boys in the control group. Such evidence would indicate that video-game ownership places young children at risk for behavior problems, even when they play games marketed to children their age.
Method Participants Sixty-four boys, 6 to 9 years of age (M = 7.89, SD = 0.82) participated. Boys were included in the study if they (a) were enrolled in a first-grade (33%), second-grade (44%), or thirdgrade (23%) class; (b) did not have a video-game system in their home; (c) had a parent interested in purchasing a system for their use; and (d) had no history of developmental, behavioral, medical, or learning problems. Ethnicities included White (89%), African American (6%), Asian American (3%),
and Latino (2%). Approximately 79% of boys came from twoparent families. Paternal education included elementary school (5%), high school (70%), college (15%), and graduate or professional education (10%).
Measures The Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test—2nd edition (KBIT–2; Kaufman & Kaufman, 2004) was used to estimate boys’ intellectual ability (M = 100, SD = 15). The Woodcock–Johnson— III: Tests of Achievement (WJ–III; McGrew & Woodcock, 2001) were used to assess boys’ academic functioning. The WJ– III yields three composite scores (M = 100, SD = 15): Broad Reading, Broad Mathematics, and Broad Written Language. The Parent Rating Scale (PRS) and Teacher Rating Scale (TRS) were used to assess boys’ behavior at home and school, respectively (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004). Both scales yield three composite scores (M = 50, SD = 10): Externalizing Problems, Internalizing Problems, and Adaptive Skills. The TRS yields one additional composite, School Problems, indicative of Attention Problems (i.e., distractibility, difficulty concentrating) and Learning Problems (i.e., difficulty reading, writing, spelling). The Afterschool Time Diary (Hofferth, Davis-Kean, Davis, & Finkelstein, 1997) was used to estimate the duration of boys’ video-game play and academic activities after school. Parents were asked to report boys’ activities from the end of the school day until bedtime for the 2 previous weekdays. Average duration of video-game play was calculated by summing the duration of video-game play across the 2 days and dividing by 2. Average duration of academic activities was calculated by summing the total time spent engaged in afterschool education, homework, reading, listening to stories, and writing, divided by 2.
Procedure In early autumn, boys were recruited through newspaper advertisements to participate in an “ongoing study of boys’ academic and behavioral development.” In exchange for their participation, parents were promised a PlayStation II (PSII), controllers, and three games rated E (Everyone) by the Entertainment Software Rating Board. The games, Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island, Shrek Smash N’ Crash Racing, and Sonic Riders, reportedly contain mild cartoon violence and comic mischief. Only boys were included in the study, to increase the effectiveness of the experimental manipulation. Because our study was naturalistic, we could not directly manipulate the frequency and duration of children’s video-game play. We worried that girls assigned to the experimental condition might not play significantly more than girls assigned to the control condition or play enough to potentially influence their academic or behavioral functioning. Indeed, naturalistic studies often show restricted range in girls’ frequency and duration of video-game play (Gentile, Saleem, & Anderson, 2007). In contrast, boys
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Effects of Video-Game Ownership on Young Boys play video games more often and for longer duration than do girls (Roberts, Foehr, & Rideout, 2005). Boys are also more likely to select games with violent content and display physical aggression (Ostrov, Gentile, & Crick, 2006). Furthermore, survey data indicate that boys are more likely to displace afterschool academic activities with video games (Cummings & Vandewater, 2007), and approximately twice as many boys as girls report skipping homework or performing poorly on tests because of their video-game play (Gentile, 2009). All parents who expressed an interest in the study were interviewed by telephone to determine whether their children met demographic criteria. Researchers also informed parents of the incentive for participation and asked, “Does your child want a PSII or do you already have a video-game system in your home?” Only parents who reported that the family did not own a system and who said that they intended to give the PSII to their child were scheduled for baseline assessment. Children completed the KBIT–2 and WJ–III, and parents completed the PRS. The TRS was mailed to teachers. After baseline assessment, boys were randomly assigned to experimental or control conditions. Only boys whose baseline scores indicated academic achievement within normal limits and no significant behavior problems were randomized. Parents of boys assigned to the experimental condition were telephoned the day after randomization and told that the PSII was available immediately and that it would be delivered to their home. Families participated in follow-up assessment 4 months after baseline. Boys completed the WJ–III, parents completed the PRS and Afterschool Time Diary, and teachers were mailed the TRS. Boys in the control condition were awarded the PSII, and parents were debriefed. Figure 1 provides a flowchart of the steps in the experimental procedure and the number of participants after each step.
Results Baseline characteristics and manipulation check There were no significant differences between the experimental and control groups at baseline (see Table 1). Time from baseline to follow-up was similar for boys in the experimental (M = 135 days, SD = 18.34 days) and control (M = 133 days, SD = 19.11 days) conditions, t(62) = 0.240, p = .811. At follow-up, all of the boys in the experimental condition continued to play the video-game system. Ninety percent of boys in the experimental condition acquired additional games (M = 2.28, SD = 1.49). The most popular games were rated E (Everyone): Madden NFL, Lego Star Wars, and Pac-Man World 3. The latter two games reportedly contain mild cartoon violence. Fifty-three percent of boys acquired at least one game rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older); the most popular game was Lego Star Wars II, which reportedly contains cartoon violence and crude humor. Two boys acquired Pirates of
the Caribbean, rated T (Teen), which reportedly contains alcohol references and violence. No boy in the experimental group owned games rated M (Mature), and no boy in the control group acquired a video-game system during the study. Average duration of video-game play was longer for boys in the experimental condition (M = 39.38 min/day, SD = 22.13 min/day) than the control condition (M = 9.37 min/day, SD = 12.65 min/day), t(62) = 6.65, p < .001, d = 1.66. Also at followup, average duration of after-school academic activities was lower for boys in the experimental condition (M = 18.28 min/ day, SD = 15.11 min/day) than for boys in the control condition (M = 31.64 min/day, SD = 20.05 min/day), t(62) = 3.01, p = .004, d = 0.75.
Effects of video-game ownership Three multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVAs) were conducted to determine the effects of video-game ownership on boys’ functioning. In these MANCOVAs, the dependent variables were boys’ (a) academic achievement, (b) parentreported behavior, and (c) teacher-reported behavior at followup, respectively. The independent variable was experimental condition. Boys’ baseline scores and IQ scores served as covariates. In each analysis, we followed up significant multivariate effects with univariate tests using Bonferroni adjustment to control for family-wise error. In the first analysis, boys’ three achievement scores at follow-up served as dependent variables. Results yielded a significant multivariate effect, Wilks’s Λ = .749, F(3, 56) = 6.26, p = .001, ηp2 = .25. Analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs; see Table 2), evaluated at p < .017 to control for error, indicated that boys in the experimental condition earned significantly lower Reading and Written Language scores at follow-up than did boys in the control condition. In the second MANCOVA, parent-reported behavioral outcomes were the dependent variables. Results did not show a significant multivariate effect, Wilks’s Λ = .947, F(3, 56) = 1.04, p = .384. ANCOVAs (see Table 2) revealed no differences in parent-reported outcomes as a function of condition. In the final MANCOVA, the four teacher-reported behavior scores served as dependent variables. Results did not show a significant multivariate effect, Wilks’s Λ= .882, F(4, 54) = 1.81, p = .141. However, ANCOVAs (see Table 2), evaluated at p ≤ .0125 to control for error, indicated a tendency for boys in the experimental condition to display greater School Problems than boys in the control condition. To explore this finding, we conducted two ANCOVAs (controlling for IQ and baseline scores) examining differences on the Attention Problems and Learning Problems subscales as a function of experimental condition. Results showed no difference in Attention Problems at followup, F(1, 60) = 0.030, p = .857. However, boys in the experimental condition showed greater Learning Problems at follow-up (M = 52.99, SD = 11.33) than did boys in the control condition (M = 45.88, SD = 7.00), F(1, 60) = 9.37, p = .003, η2 = .12.
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Assessed for Eligibility (n = 224)
Excluded (n = 155) Already had video-game system: n = 108 Previous/current psychiatric diagnosis: n = 26 Previous/current learning disability: n = 16 Wrong grade/gender: n = 5
Randomized (n = 69)
Allocated to Experimental Condition (n = 34)
Allocated to Control Condition (n = 35)
Received intervention: n = 33 Denied intervention (significant behavior problems at baseline): n = 1
Retained in control group: n = 34 Not retained (high achievement scores at baseline): n = 1
Completed (n = 32)
Completed (n = 32)
Withdrew from study: n = 1
Withdrew from study: n = 2
Analyzed (n = 32)
Analyzed (n = 32)
Fig. 1. Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials flowchart of the procedure. Eligible participants were assigned to either the experimental condition, in which they immediately received the video-game system, or the control condition, in which they received the system 4 months later, after assessment. All participants were assessed at follow-up.
Mediation We examined whether average duration of video-game play would mediate the relationship between video-game ownership and boys’ Reading and Written Language scores at
follow-up, adjusting for scores at baseline (Baron & Kenny, 1986; MacKinnon & Fairchild, 2009). A test of the unmediated model showed that experimental condition predicted boys’ Reading scores at follow-up, b = −5.17, β = −0.208, F(1, 58) = 9.55, p = .003. Experimental
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Effects of Video-Game Ownership on Young Boys Table 1. Characteristics of the Participants at Baseline Condition Variable Child’s age (in months) Child’s intelligencea Child’s grade in school First Second Third Child’s ethnicity White African American Asian American Latino Parents’ marital status Married Father’s education Finished college Child taking medicationb
Experimental (n = 32)
Control (n = 32)
M = 95.36 (SD = 9.52) M = 100.97 (SD = 9.24)
M = 93.92 (SD = 10.16) M = 102.22 (SD = 9.02)
n = 10 (31.3%) n = 13 (40.6%) n = 9 (28.1%)
n = 11 (34.4%) n = 15 (46.8%) n = 6 (18.8%)
n = 28 (87.4%) n = 2 (6.3%) n = 2 (6.3%) n=0
n = 29 (90.6%) n = 2 (6.3%) n=0 n = 1 (3.1%)
n = 26 (81.3%)
n = 25 (78.1%)
n = 7 (21.9%) n = 3 (9.4%)
n = 10 (31.3%) n = 4 (12.5%)
χ2
0.790 (df = 2)
0.160 (df = 1)
0.097 (df = 1) 0.721 (df = 1) 0.160 (df = 1)
Note: The experimental and control groups did not differ in age, t(62) = 0.584, or intelligence, t(62) = 0.547. a Intelligence was estimated using the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test—2nd edition (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2004). b All children were taking nonpsychotropic medication for medical problems (e.g., asthma).
condition predicted duration of video-game play, b = 29.23, β = 0.629, F(1, 58) = 42.29, p < .001, and play predicted Reading outcomes, b = −0.158, β = −0.296, F(1, 57) = 12.59, p = .001. After controlling for video-game play, the relationship between condition and Reading outcomes was no longer significant, b = −0.542, β = −0.022, F(1, 57) = 0.073, p > .05. Confidence intervals at 95% (95% CIs) for the indirect effect fell outside zero, indicating significant mediation (95% CI = −7.78, −1.93). A test of the unmediated model showed that experimental condition predicted Written Language scores at follow-up, b = −6.21, β = −0.287, F(1, 58) = 12.17, p = .001. A test of the mediated model showed that condition predicted video-game play, b = 29.23, β = 0.629, F(1, 58) = 42.29, p < .001, and play predicted Written Language outcomes, b = −0.134, β = −0.288, F(1, 57) = 7.36, p = .009. After controlling for video-game play, the relationship between experimental condition and Written Language was not significant, b = −2.29, β = −0.106, F(1, 57) = 1.07, p > .05. Confidence limits for the indirect effect also fell outside zero (95% CI = −5.67, −0.81).
Discussion Our study represents the first randomized, controlled test of the effects of video-game ownership on the academic and behavioral functioning of young boys. Our findings provide initial support for the notion that video-game ownership among boys is associated with decreased academic achievement in the areas of reading and writing. Overall, boys who received the video-game system at the beginning of the study showed relatively stable and somewhat below average reading and writing achievement from baseline to
follow-up. In contrast, boys in the control group showed increased reading and writing achievement across the duration of the study. The effect size for reading was moderate, reflecting approximately two fifths of a standard deviation difference in achievement scores at follow-up, whereas the effect size for written language was large, reflecting more than one half of a standard deviation difference at follow-up (Cohen, 1988). Furthermore, the lower academic achievement scores displayed by boys in the experimental condition were observable by teachers; boys who received the video-game system earned significantly higher Learning Problems scores, which reflect delays in reading, writing, spelling, and other academic tasks. These early reading and writing problems are particularly salient to young, elementary-school age children, because they can interfere with the acquisition of more advanced reading comprehension and writing composition skills later in development (Rayner, Foorman, Perfetti, Pesetsky, & Seidenberg, 2001). Altogether, our findings suggest that video-game ownership may impair academic achievement for some boys in a manner that has real-world significance. Our findings also support displacement as a mechanism by which video-game ownership might influence boys’ academic achievement. Boys in the experimental condition spent more time playing video games and less time engaged in after-school academic activities than did boys in the control condition. Furthermore, video-game play mediated the relationship between video-game ownership and boys’ reading and writing outcomes. Our findings are consistent with survey research that shows videogame play to be extensive among young boys who own videogame systems (Roberts et al., 2005) and with cross-sectional
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Weis, Cerankosky Table 2. Academic Achievement and Behavior as a Function of Condition and Time (N = 64) Condition Experimental Variable and testing time Academic achievement Reading Pretest Posttest Mathematics Pretest Posttest Written Language Pretest Posttest Parent-reported behavior Externalizing Problems Pretest Posttest Internalizing Problems Pretest Posttest Adaptive Skills Pretest Posttest Teacher-reported behavior Externalizing Problems Pretest Posttest Internalizing Problems Pretest Posttest School Problems Pretest Posttest Adaptive Skills Pretest Posttest
Control
M
SD
M
SD
Fa
p
η2
97.81 96.43
9.57 12.66
98.37 101.60
11.20 11.83
0.05 9.55
n.s. .003
.042
102.69 104.29
9.68 11.04
102.19 106.24
10.26 9.75
0.04 1.67
n.s. n.s.
94.09 95.19
8.80 9.28
95.53 101.40
9.71 11.29
0.39 12.17
n.s. .001
52.47 51.76
8.01 9.20
50.75 52.12
7.29 8.69
0.81 0.07
n.s. n.s.
48.16 49.13
8.97 9.71
48.59 47.15
6.39 8.54
0.05 2.49
n.s. n.s.
50.34 49.89
8.20 8.07
48.13 50.55
8.62 7.83
1.11 0.32
n.s. n.s.
47.88 50.33
6.45 6.89
50.84 50.89
7.30 9.14
2.97 0.19
n.s. n.s.
47.38 50.13
7.69 8.39
47.22 50.02
6.05 7.52
0.01 0.06
n.s. n.s.
46.53 51.87
5.71 9.37
48.69 47.47
6.64 7.31
1.94 5.89
n.s. .018
51.13 50.13
8.22 6.56
48.88 51.90
7.62 7.91
1.29 2.56
n.s. n.s.
.081
.064
Note: Pretest means are unadjusted; posttest means are adjusted for pretest and Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test—2nd edition (KBIT–2) scores (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2004). The same number of participants was analyzed at pretest and posttest; change in degrees of freedom from pretest to posttest reflects adjusting for pretest and KBIT–2 scores in posttest analyses. All scores are standardized. The mean score was 100 for achievement (SD = 15) and 50 for behavior (SD = 10). Eta-squared was calculated by hand so that total variance explained equals 1.00. a The degrees of freedom for the analyses of variance were as follow—academic achievement and parent-reported behavior: df = 1, 62 for the pretest and df = 1, 58 for the posttest; teacher-reported behavior: df = 1, 62 for the pretest and df = 1, 57 for the posttest.
studies indicating that video games displace children’s after-school academic activities (Cummings & Vandewater, 2007; Schmidt & Vandewater, 2008; Vandewater et al., 2006). Boys’ Mathematics scores did not differ as a function of experimental condition. One explanation is that the displacement of homework by video games may not affect the development of math skills as much as reading and writing skills. For example, in one population-based study, the amount of time young children spent completing homework was strongly
associated with their basic reading skills but not their math calculation or problem-solving skills (Hofferth & Sandberg, 2001). Another possibility is that young children may not engage in many math-based after-school activities in the first place. Whereas it is easy to imagine a young child reading or listening to stories at bedtime, it is more difficult to imagine a child completing math worksheets for pleasure. Young children may simply have fewer math-based recreational activities for video games to displace.
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Effects of Video-Game Ownership on Young Boys In our study, video-game ownership was not associated with increased behavior problems among boys. It is likely that boys in the experimental condition were exposed to at least moderate levels of video-game violence, given the tendency of the Entertainment Software Rating Board to underestimate the degree of illegal, harmful, and violent behavior in games rated E and E10+ (Walsh & Gentile, 2001). It is possible that these games did not have enough violent content to prime, model, or reinforce behavior problems. It is also possible that boys’ behavior did change, but the omnibus rating scales used in this study were not sensitive to these changes. A third possibility for the null findings is that the study lacked sufficient power to detect differences in boys’ behavior as a function of game ownership. Given the extensive evidence supporting the association between violent video-game play and aggression, future experimental studies conducted in naturalistic settings are necessary to explore these possibilities. Future research is also necessary to replicate and extend the current study to examine the long-term effects of video-game ownership on children. For example, we do not know whether video-game ownership would continue to displace academic activities and impair achievement beyond 4 months. Furthermore, we do not know whether video-game ownership might influence the academic and behavioral functioning of girls. Girls appear to play video games for different reasons, to select games with different content, and to manifest aggressive behavior following play in different ways than boys (Ostrov et al., 2006). Although recent research has shown few gender differences for the effects of violent video-game play on children’s behavior, the base rate of girls’ video-game play and physical aggression may be too low to observe a relationship between video-game ownership and girls’ functioning in naturalistic settings (Gentile et al., 2007). Finally, future research might also explore other mechanisms, besides displacement, that might explain the relationship between video-game ownership and boys’ academic outcomes. For example, video-game play may affect the development of executive functioning or information-processing skills. Children may become accustomed to the fast pace of video games and have difficulty engaging in slower, academic tasks that require sustained concentration (Bailey, West, & Anderson, 2009). Alternatively, children may become conditioned to the frequent and immediate schedule of reinforcement inherent in many video games and show low motivation to learn academic skills that are reinforced in a less consistent and more delayed fashion (Ennemoser & Schneider, 2007). We believe that our study extends the existing research literature through its focus on games marketed to young children, its examination of academic outcomes, and its reliance on experimental methodology in naturalistic settings. Our findings provide the first experimental evidence that video-game ownership may displace academic activities and hinder the academic achievement of young boys. We hope that our findings can be added to this growing body of research so that parents can make informed choices regarding their family’s media consumption.
Acknowledgments Portions of the data were presented at the 2009 meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, Illinois.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests The authors declared that they had no conflicts of interest with respect to their authorship or the publication of this article.
Funding This research was supported by the J. Reid and Polly Anderson Fund for Science Research and the Fairchild Foundation of Denison University.
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