Bijvank Marije Nije, Konijn Elly A, Bushman Brad J, Roelofsma Peter H M P
Department of Communication Science, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Pediatrics. 2009 Mar;123(3):870-6. doi: 10.1542/peds.2008-0601.
To protect minors from exposure to video games with objectionable content (eg, violence and sex), the Pan European Game Information developed a classification system for video games (eg, 18+). We tested the hypothesis that this classification system may actually increase the attractiveness of games for children younger than the age rating.
Participants were 310 Dutch youth. The design was a 3 (age group: 7-8, 12-13, and 16-17 years) x 2 (participant gender) x 7 (label: 7+, 12+, 16+, 18+, violence, no violence, or no label control) x 2 (game description: violent or nonviolent) mixed factorial. The first 2 factors were between subjects, whereas the last 2 factors were within subjects. Three personality traits (ie, reactance, trait aggressiveness, and sensation seeking) were also included in the analyses. Participants read fictitious video game descriptions and rated how much they wanted to play each game.
Results revealed that restrictive age labels and violent-content labels increased the attractiveness of video games for all of the age groups (even 7- to 8-year-olds and girls).
Although the Pan European Game Information system was developed to protect youth from objectionable content, this system actually makes such games forbidden fruits. Pediatricians should be aware of this forbidden-fruit effect, because video games with objectionable content can have harmful effects on children and adolescents.
为保护未成年人免受含有不良内容（如暴力和色情）的电子游戏影响，泛欧洲游戏信息组织制定了电子游戏分级系统（如18岁以上）。我们检验了这样一个假设，即该分级系统实际上可能会增加未达年龄评级的儿童对游戏的吸引力。
参与者为310名荷兰青少年。研究设计为3（年龄组：7 - 8岁、12 - 13岁和16 - 17岁）×2（参与者性别）×7（标签：7岁以上、12岁以上、16岁以上、18岁以上、暴力、无暴力或无标签对照）×2（游戏描述：暴力或非暴力）混合因子设计。前两个因子为组间因子，而后两个因子为组内因子。分析中还纳入了三种人格特质（即反抗性、特质攻击性和寻求刺激）。参与者阅读虚拟电子游戏描述，并对他们想玩每款游戏的程度进行评分。
结果显示，限制性年龄标签和暴力内容标签增加了所有年龄组对电子游戏的吸引力（甚至包括7至8岁的儿童和女孩）。
尽管泛欧洲游戏信息系统的开发旨在保护青少年免受不良内容影响，但该系统实际上使此类游戏成了禁果。儿科医生应意识到这种禁果效应，因为含有不良内容的电子游戏可能会对儿童和青少年产生有害影响。
