Wassilis Kassis University of Basel

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Wassilis KassisUniversity of Basel University
of Applied Sciences of Northwestern
SwitzerlandViolence socialisation of
adolescentsin contextof violence-oriented
computer games
Computer and video games does online make a
difference? International Conference Interactive
Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) Brussels,
26.-27.th June 2007
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Violence-oriented computer games

• What are we talking about?
• a 3-4 minutes view about the possible contents of
  leisure time of male adolescents.

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Violence socialization in context of computer
games

• Research question
• Is the extensive use of violence-oriented
  computer games to be defined as uncontrolled or
  as a lack of restraint?
• The focus of interest in our analysis is the
  connection between the extensive use of violent
  computer games and the use of violence of
  adolescent boys in real life.

• Article published
• Kassis, W. (2007). Unbeherrschte oder Zügellose?
  Eine aristotelische Klassifikation und ihre
  Koppelung mit Fritz These der Gewaltrahmungskompe
  tenz bei extensiven Nutzern gewaltorientierter
  Computerspiele. Zeitschrift für Pädagogik. 53
  (2), S. 223-242.

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Sample and questionnaire
Study carried out in Basel (Switzerland) in
2002. 698 ninth-graders of 48 classes were
interviewed with standardized questionnaires.
Two school types Secondary school (Type A) and
high school (Type B) For the following study,
only the boys sample (n301) was used.
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Used scales

• A total of 11 violence-oriented factors was used
  for analysis.
• Sexual,physical and social violence (within and
  outside of school)
• Violence-acceptance
• Vandalism
• Areas of experience with violence
• Intensity of using violent computer games
• Experience with violence within school
• Experience with violence outside of school
• Filtering variable
• Item Extensive use of violent computer games

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Influences on violence socialisation Framing
skills
2. School Violence in the school
3. Peers Sexual violence against peers
Violence

• Family
• Family cohesion

4. Personality factors Violence-acceptance
5. Media violent computer games
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Results 1 School type

• Of the pupils attending secondary school or high
  school almost 50 were identified as extensive
  players of these games.
• Regarding extensively playing violent computer
  games, the effect of school type is not
  significant (F3.174 (300/301). Thus no
  connection between the use of violent computer
  games and type of school attended could be found.

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Results 2 School type/computer games and
physical violence

• 143 of all pupils were assigned to the group of
  boys extensively using violent computer games.
• A total of 12 boys (8.4) demonstrated an
  interconnection between gaming and using of
  physical violence.
• All of these boys attended high school (type B),
  none secondary school (type A). Thus in this
  area, a clear effect of school type is visible
  (F7.482 (142/143), plt0.01).

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Results 3 Use of violent computer games and
violent adolescents!

• Within the high school sample of extensive gamers
  the difference between the boys using violence in
  real life (12) and the boys not using violence
  in real life (88) was examined.
• The two groups differed clearly concerning their
  framing skills (examined through 11 dimensions of
  affirmative framing to violence).
• Furthermore, also within the group of high school
  pupils extensively using violent computer games,
  a heterogeneous framing competence exists.

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Results 4 Use of violent computer games but
non-violent adolescents!

• The high school pupils and the secondary school
  pupils who extensively use violent computer games
  but are nonviolent in real life do not differ
  concerning even one of the 11 examined dimensions
  of framing violence-skills.
• This means that for the boys extensively using
  violent computer games but not using physical
  violence in school the school type is no
  predictive variable concerning further use of
  violence.

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In summary it can be stated that an
interconnection between virtual violence in
computer games and real violence in everyday life
can only be expected when the socialisation of
adolescent boys is determined by violence. A
causal/clear interconnection between violent
computer games and affinity to violence couldnt
be clearly detected.