Adolescent Behavior, Psychology, Social
Conditions
Keywords
adolescent, gun, violence, media
Brief summary
More American children die by accidental gun use than children in other developed countries. One factor that can influence children's interest in guns is exposure to media containing guns. The objective of this study is to test whether children who play a video game containing guns will handle a real gun longer, will pull the trigger more times, and pull the trigger while pointing the gun at themselves or another than children who see the same movie without guns.
Detailed description
The design will be a 2 (player vs. observer) x 3 (nonviolent, violent with sword, violent with gun) between-subjects study. Participants will randomly be assigned to conditions. Participants will be tested in pairs. The participant in the player condition will play a video game while the participant in the watcher condition will watch. The participants will be in the same room, seated next to each other. Video games will be chosen for the three conditions which have no violent content (nonviolent condition), violent content with a sword as a weapon for the player (violent with sword condition), and violent content with a gun as a weapon (violent with gun condition). All games chosen will be age appropriate (rated E) and have a consistent perspective (i.e., 1st person or 3rd person) between conditions. Participants will be asked how familiar they are with the video game used to control for experience with the stimulus. Gameplay will last for 20 minutes. The measures for experiment 3 will include the media habits, aggressive behavior, attitude toward guns, and guns in the home measures listed for experiment 1. In addition, parents will be asked if their children have taken a gun safety course and a behavioral measure will be whether or not children handle a real (but non-firing) gun and whether they pull the trigger. Participants will be tested in pairs, with a sibling or friend. Participants will be placed in a room containing toys, with a camera on the wall. Participants will be told that they can play with any of the toys in the room for the next 20 minutes. The toys will be placed will be placed in drawers inside a cabinet. Inside the room, two brightly colored plastic Nerf dart guns and two handguns will be placed in separate drawers, as in previous research. The handguns will be modified so they cannot fire. Inside the magazine, the handguns contain no bullets. They do, however, contain a sensor that counts the number of times the trigger is depressed with sufficient force to discharge the weapon. This allows us to distinguish reliably the children who pull the trigger from those who only handle the gun. Parents will be asked to predict whether their child will handle the real gun and pull the trigger. The researcher and the parents will be able to watch the session via a monitor in a control room. A thorough debriefing will follow (see attachment). The investigators also have received letters of support from the Director of the School of Communication and from the Chief of Police (see attachments). The investigators predict the highest levels of playing with guns and firing them among participants who see a violent clip containing guns.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALVideo games and violence
Participants will be randomly assigned to play a video game which contains either (1) no violent content, (2) violent content with swords, or (3) violent content with guns. The game, rated E, is age appropriate and modded to include guns in the appropriate condition.
Sponsors
Ohio State University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Masking description
Participants did not know which condition they were in. Participants' parents were aware of the deception (hidden guns) and what condition their children were in. Research personnel knew conditions as well. Research assistants who transcribed recorded laboratory sessions did not know what condition they were coding (eg. what type of game they played)
Intervention model description
Participants are randomly assigned to play a non-violent video game, a violent video game containing swords, or a violent video game containing guns.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
8 Years to 12 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Age 8-12yrs, had not participated in study prior, was able to schedule participation with a known peer (8-12yo).
Exclusion criteria
* Younger than 8yo, older than 12yo, had participated in study prior, could not schedule participation with a known peer (8-12yo)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Trigger Pulls Aimed at Self or Other | 20 minute play session | Trigger pulls while the firearm is aimed at the child holding the firearm or the other participant. |
| Time Spent Holding Gun | 20 minute play session | Time (in seconds) participant spent holding the real firearm during the play session |
| Number of Trigger Pulls | 20 minute play session | Number of times participant pulled trigger of real firearm during the play session |
Countries
United States
Participant flow
Pre-assignment details
Participants were both randomly assigned to condition (i.e. non-violent, sword, gun conditions) and to be either a player or watcher.
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| Experimental: Violence With Guns (Player) Participants in this condition will play a video game with violent content which includes guns.
Video games and violence: Participants will be randomly assigned to play a video game which contains either (1) no violent content, (2) violent content with swords, or (3) violent content with guns. The game, rated E, is age appropriate and modded to include guns in the appropriate condition. | 38 |
| Experimental: Violence With Guns (Watcher) Participants in this condition will watch a video game with violent content which includes guns.
Video games and violence: Participants will be randomly assigned to play a video game which contains either (1) no violent content, (2) violent content with swords, or (3) violent content with guns. The game, rated E, is age appropriate and modded to include guns in the appropriate condition. | 38 |
| Experimental: Violence Without Guns (Player) Participants in this condition will play a video game with violent content which does not include guns. Instead, the violence will include weapons such as swords.
Video games and violence: Participants will be randomly assigned to play a video game which contains either (1) no violent content, (2) violent content with swords, or (3) violent content with guns. The game, rated E, is age appropriate and modded to include guns in the appropriate condition. | 37 |
| Experimental: Violence Without Guns (Watcher) Participants in this condition will watch a video game with violent content which does not include guns. Instead, the violence will include weapons such as swords.
Video games and violence: Participants will be randomly assigned to play a video game which contains either (1) no violent content, (2) violent content with swords, or (3) violent content with guns. The game, rated E, is age appropriate and modded to include guns in the appropriate condition. | 37 |
| Control: No Violence (Player) Participants in this condition will play a video game which contains no violent content or weapons.
Video games and violence: Participants will be randomly assigned to play a video game which contains either (1) no violent content, (2) violent content with swords, or (3) violent content with guns. The game, rated E, is age appropriate and modded to include guns in the appropriate condition. | 35 |
| Control: No Violence (Watcher) Participants in this condition will watch a video game which contains no violent content or weapons.
Video games and violence: Participants will be randomly assigned to play a video game which contains either (1) no violent content, (2) violent content with swords, or (3) violent content with guns. The game, rated E, is age appropriate and modded to include guns in the appropriate condition. | 35 |
| Total | 220 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Experimental: Violence With Guns (Player) | Experimental: Violence With Guns (Watcher) | Experimental: Violence Without Guns (Player) | Experimental: Violence Without Guns (Watcher) | Control: No Violence (Player) | Control: No Violence (Watcher) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Continuous | 9.66 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.6 | 10.08 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.5 | 9.97 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.21 | 9.95 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.41 | 9.88 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.4 | 9.82 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.36 | 9.94 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.45 |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized Asian | 1 Participants | 1 Participants | 0 Participants | 1 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 3 Participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized Black | 4 Participants | 4 Participants | 5 Participants | 3 Participants | 5 Participants | 4 Participants | 25 Participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized Latino | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 1 Participants | 2 Participants | 0 Participants | 2 Participants | 5 Participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized Mixed race or other | 5 Participants | 5 Participants | 3 Participants | 5 Participants | 3 Participants | 2 Participants | 23 Participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized White | 28 Participants | 28 Participants | 28 Participants | 26 Participants | 26 Participants | 27 Participants | 163 Participants |
| Region of Enrollment United States | 38 Participants | 38 Participants | 37 Participants | 37 Participants | 35 Participants | 35 Participants | 220 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 16 Participants | 15 Participants | 11 Participants | 15 Participants | 13 Participants | 21 Participants | 91 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 22 Participants | 23 Participants | 26 Participants | 22 Participants | 22 Participants | 14 Participants | 129 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk | EG002 affected / at risk | EG003 affected / at risk | EG004 affected / at risk | EG005 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 38 | 0 / 38 | 0 / 37 | 0 / 37 | 0 / 35 | 0 / 35 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 38 | 0 / 38 | 0 / 37 | 0 / 37 | 0 / 35 | 0 / 35 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 38 | 0 / 38 | 0 / 37 | 0 / 37 | 0 / 35 | 0 / 35 |
Outcome results
Primary
Number of Trigger Pulls
Number of times participant pulled trigger of real firearm during the play session
Time frame: 20 minute play session
Population: NOTE: players and observers were collapsed into a single category for analysis
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control: No Violence (Player) | Number of Trigger Pulls | 2.31 Number of trigger pulls | Standard Error 1.6 |
| Control: No Violence (Watcher) | Number of Trigger Pulls | 1.97 Number of trigger pulls | Standard Error 1.2 |
| Experimental: Violence Without Guns (Player) | Number of Trigger Pulls | 4.19 Number of trigger pulls | Standard Error 1.74 |
| Experimental: Violence Without Guns (Watcher) | Number of Trigger Pulls | 2.22 Number of trigger pulls | Standard Error 1.45 |
| Experimental: Violence With Guns (Player) | Number of Trigger Pulls | 6.45 Number of trigger pulls | Standard Error 2.6 |
| Experimental: Violence With Guns (Watcher) | Number of Trigger Pulls | 8.79 Number of trigger pulls | Standard Error 3.38 |
Primary
Number of Trigger Pulls Aimed at Self or Other
Trigger pulls while the firearm is aimed at the child holding the firearm or the other participant.
Time frame: 20 minute play session
Population: NOTE: players and observers were collapsed into a single category for analysis
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control: No Violence (Player) | Number of Trigger Pulls Aimed at Self or Other | 0.20 Number of trigger pulls | Standard Error 0.2 |
| Control: No Violence (Watcher) | Number of Trigger Pulls Aimed at Self or Other | 0.09 Number of trigger pulls | Standard Error 0.09 |
| Experimental: Violence Without Guns (Player) | Number of Trigger Pulls Aimed at Self or Other | 1.97 Number of trigger pulls | Standard Error 1.22 |
| Experimental: Violence Without Guns (Watcher) | Number of Trigger Pulls Aimed at Self or Other | 0.84 Number of trigger pulls | Standard Error 0.53 |
| Experimental: Violence With Guns (Player) | Number of Trigger Pulls Aimed at Self or Other | 2.42 Number of trigger pulls | Standard Error 1.17 |
| Experimental: Violence With Guns (Watcher) | Number of Trigger Pulls Aimed at Self or Other | 3.68 Number of trigger pulls | Standard Error 1.74 |
Primary
Time Spent Holding Gun
Time (in seconds) participant spent holding the real firearm during the play session
Time frame: 20 minute play session
Population: NOTE: players and observers were collapsed into a single category for analysis
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control: No Violence (Player) | Time Spent Holding Gun | 29.57 Seconds | Standard Error 15.28 |
| Control: No Violence (Watcher) | Time Spent Holding Gun | 21.14 Seconds | Standard Error 10.92 |
| Experimental: Violence Without Guns (Player) | Time Spent Holding Gun | 82.86 Seconds | Standard Error 25.79 |
| Experimental: Violence Without Guns (Watcher) | Time Spent Holding Gun | 48.62 Seconds | Standard Error 24.77 |
| Experimental: Violence With Guns (Player) | Time Spent Holding Gun | 61.52 Seconds | Standard Error 17.77 |
| Experimental: Violence With Guns (Watcher) | Time Spent Holding Gun | 68.40 Seconds | Standard Error 17.59 |