Violent Video Games Make Teens 'Eat More, Cheat More': Study

Teenagers who play video games have less self-control and tend to cheat more, says study. Researchers found that teens playing violent video games ate more chocolate and were more likely to steal raffle tickets in a lab experiment than were teens who played nonviolent games.

The effects were strongest in teens who scored high on a measure of moral disengagement, the ability to convince yourself that ethical standards don't apply to you in a particular situation.

Brad Bushman, co-author of the study and professor of communication and psychology at The Ohio State University, said the results suggested that the risks posed by violent video games go beyond the well-studied impacts on aggression.

Bushman conducted the study on172 Italian high school students, aged 13 to 19, who played either a violent video game (Grand Theft Auto III or Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) or a nonviolent game (Pinball 3D or MiniGolf 3D) for 35 minutes, after practicing for 10 minutes.

The study was published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

Source-ANI