The Effect of Digital Games and Game Strategies on Young Adolescents' Aggression

Violence is a major element in many of the present-day's digital games. Despite the extensive research on this subject, the effect of violent digital games on the aggression level among children has not been satisfactorily clarified. The study examines the combined effect of collaborative/competitive game strategy and the presence or absence of violence in the game on the aggression of young adolescents. Fifty-six young adolescents (28 girls, 28 boys) aged 10–13 years old participated in this study. They played digital games and answered questionnaires designed to check the influence of the game on their aggression level immediately after the game. Findings indicate that game strategy may have a significant effect on aggression level: collaborative game strategy was found to repress aggression, whereas competitive strategy was found to raise aggression levels among all subjects. The very existence of violence in the game was not found to be responsible for the aggression level of players. No differences in player aggression levels were found between genders.

The findings suggest that not all types of parental mediation are related to risky behavior online (Eden & Eshet-Alkala, 2014). Additional finding is that social and technical supervision by parents actually increase risky online activities. the injunctive norms of the adolescents’ peers are the most influential factor in their risky online behavior. the results indicate that teens who engage in risky online activities believe that their friends approve of such behavior. the findings demonstrate the influence of peers on risky online behavior. When considering the differential contribution of parents and peers’ injunctive norms to involvement in risky activities online, it seems that the latter is the more influential, followed by the stable characteristics of the family-child attachment. Intrusive parental supervision of adolescents’ online activities seems to be detrimental to controlling their participation in risky encounters online.