Seven-year-olds’ aggressive choices in a computer game can be predicted in infancy

Concerns about the relationship between computer games and children’s aggression have been expressed for decades, but it is not yet clear whether the content of such games evokes aggression or a prior history of aggression promotes children’s interest in aggressive games. Two hundred and sixty-six 7-year- old children from a nationally representative longitudinal sample in the UK played a novel computer game (CAMGAME) in which the child’s avatar encountered a series of social challenges that might evoke aggressive, prosocial or neutral behaviour. Aggressive choices during the game were predicted by well-known risk factors for aggressive conduct problems and the children’s own early angry aggressiveness as infants. These findings suggest that children who are predisposed to aggression bring those tendencies to virtual as well as real environments.

"• Our study tested the hypothesis that children’s aggression in the context of computer games can be predicted by their own aggressive tendencies years earlier. • We created a novel computer game with embedded social challenges that could elicit aggression or alternative behaviour. • Children’s angry aggressiveness in infancy predicted their aggressive choices in the game at age 7 years. • Angry aggressiveness in infancy also predicted how often children played games but that did not explain the link between early aggressiveness and aggressive choices." (Hay et al, 2017: 1)