School of Management and Economics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, P.R. China.
Center for West African Studies, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, P.R. China.
Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2021 Jan;24(1):17-23. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2020.0018.
Research is divided on the effects of violent video games (VVGs). Some scholars claimed that VVG promotes aggression, reduces empathy, increases self-injury, and externalization, whereas others claim that a minimal or, in some cases, no traits as reported by the former is associated with playing VVGs. This study provides evidence to support claims that VVG is associated with aggressive behavior among young adults. However, the study focused more importantly on the moderating effects of adverse environmental factors on this relationship from a cross-cultural perspective. A total of 3,219 young adults between 18 and 35 years sampled from colleges and game centers in Ghana and China provided support for this study. We adopted a parallel moderated-mediation regression analysis and found that increased exposure to VVG is associated with reduced empathy concerns, aggression-related thoughts, and increased aggressive behavior. Although controlling for gender, setting, and location, the results pointed to the magnifying effects of the adverse environments in explaining the association between VVG and aggressive behavior. This study thus provides strong support for the frequently debated adverse effects of playing VVG among young adults with a particular reference to environmental factors and will hence aid in communicating a more representative viewpoint on the effects of VVG.
关于暴力视频游戏（VVG）的影响，研究结果不一。一些学者声称 VVG 会促进攻击行为、减少同理心、增加自我伤害和外化，而另一些学者则声称与玩 VVG 相关的特征最小化，或者在某些情况下根本没有与前者所报道的特征相关。本研究提供了证据支持 VVG 与年轻人的攻击行为有关的说法。然而，这项研究更重要的是从跨文化的角度关注了不利环境因素对这种关系的调节作用。从加纳和中国的大学和游戏中心抽取了 3219 名年龄在 18 至 35 岁之间的年轻人参与了这项研究。我们采用了平行的中介调节回归分析，发现接触 VVG 增加与同理心关注减少、与攻击行为相关的想法增加和攻击行为增加有关。尽管控制了性别、环境和地点，结果表明不利环境的放大效应在解释 VVG 与攻击行为之间的关联方面起着重要作用。因此，这项研究为年轻人玩 VVG 的负面影响提供了强有力的支持，特别是针对环境因素，并有助于传达关于 VVG 影响的更具代表性的观点。
