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Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents: Theory, Research, and Public Policy. Craig A. Andersen, Douglas A. Gentile, and Katherine E. Buckley. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Pp. 190. $29.95, cloth. ISBN: 0-19-530983-9. TEL:800-451-7556 * FAX: 919-677-1303
Violent video games are successfully marketed to, and easily obtained by, children and adolescents. Even the U.S. government distributes one such game, America's Army, through both the Internet and its recruiting offices. This book examines research to discover whether there is any scientific evidence to support the claims that violent games contribute to aggressive and violent behavior.
The authors first present an overview of empirical research on the effects of violent video games, and then add to this literature three new studies that fill the most important gaps in the research. They update the traditional General Aggression Model to focus on both developmental processes and how media-violence exposure can increase the likelihood of aggressive and violent behavior in both shortand long-term contexts.
The...