Violent games are gateway to gateway drugs, study claims
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Apr 10th 2006 at 12:55PM }
According to a study
conducted by University of California's Dr. Sonya Brady and University of Pittsburgh professor, Karen Matthews, men
that have just played violent video games (e.g. Grand Theft Auto III) are more likely to smoke marijuana and
drink alcohol. While violent games have often been accused of influencing violent behavior, Dr. Brady says, "this
study suggests [that violent games] might increase any type of risk-taking behavior."The study focused on male undergrads aged 18 to 21. Participants were asked to play either GTA III or The Simpsons: Hit and Run. Researchers also found that playing GTA III led to increased blood pressure and decreased cooperation when attempting to complete group tasks. Decreased cooperation? C'mon, whada you expect when we're all just stoned and drunk. Sheesh, cut us a break next time!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Simon @ Apr 10th 2006 12:59PM
Here is me playing GTA: San Andreas. Here is me not doing drugs of any kind. Make your own conclusions, people
benedon @ Apr 10th 2006 1:03PM
that's dumb. GTA III is a much better game than simpsons hit and run. The participants obviously wanted to play more gta than doing some other stuff. Those playing simpsons got so bored of playing that they would rather do other stuff. VIOLENT GAMES DOES NOT PROMOTE VIOLENCE BUT IT IS A MEANS OF AN OUTLET.STOP TRYING TO PROVE OTHERWISE. Look at the other research where inmates were given violent games to play with. They exhibited LESS violent behavior.
Paul @ Apr 10th 2006 1:06PM
Look at the age group. They also mention undergrad. Didn't we all drink alot while we were undergrads? SNES was the hot system at the time, so I don't think we can blame GTA for my drinking. 18-21 year olds are notorious for risk taking because they still suffer from the invincibility complex. I hate this kind of crap giving video gamers a bad rap. I play all of the violent games, but I don't drink, don't smoke, don't do drugs, I'm married, have a young daughter and am starting medical school in August. Hey, maybe those violent games are what got me into medical school! How's that for a study? and my rant is over....
WizarDru @ Apr 10th 2006 1:07PM
Nice self-selecting set there, guys. How are the controls for that one? What this study suggests is that UofC and UPitt allow their professors to run poorly executed studies that will be savaged on peer review. Only 100 subjects? Then they tell them to do a specific action in GTA and Hit-and-Run and then they ask a question...and THAT'S THE STUDY?
Pffft. Next!
Merx @ Apr 10th 2006 1:08PM
GTA 3 or Simpsons hit and run. Its not even a choice. Hit and run is a kids game. You cannot expect young adults to play a kids game! So of course there is going to be a posative correlation between those who play GTA and drug use, because the majority of people who did the test would have chosen GTA..
Lynx @ Apr 10th 2006 1:08PM
Funny, I've been playing violent games just about all my life and I've never gotten into a fight and have sworn to myself I wouldn't drink, smoke, or do drugs.
What else are they gonna blame on videogames?
jaemz @ Apr 10th 2006 1:09PM
Back when I was a kid, we had Pink Floyd and Bob Ross.
I feel for the kids of today if all they have is GTA3.
heretrix @ Apr 10th 2006 1:11PM
What about the people that smoked pot way before GTA ever came out? What about people that used to smoke pot and quit but still played the game? Did they relapse back into the life of a POT ADDICT?
Is GTA going to be responsible for every wrong in our society that young people do?
It's way past ridiculous....
peopleintrees @ Apr 10th 2006 1:12PM
what a load of bs. i smoke herb all day long and all i play is animal crossings.
idioteraser @ Apr 10th 2006 1:15PM
What study are you refering to Benedon? The only connection to games in prisions is that non violent game packages on a cheap ripoff game system were offered to inmates if they had behaved for six months. The inmates still had to pony up the cash for it though.
Funny how that GTA is incredibly unpopular in Japan which has far more violent tv then America does. The Simpsons hit and run is more popular there. Also it's amusing how many little kids want to play GTA and proclaim it is the greatest game in the world you see these waste of space kids on xbox live all the time.
Sorry but the Simpsons hit and run would be far more popular to adults then GTA because most adults dislike lots of violence in their games. Have a few hundred adults between 30-40 play GTA and Simpsons hit and Run. Those adults would want to play the Simpsons game more.
bauser @ Apr 10th 2006 1:19PM
Does CORRELATION mean CAUSALITY? You be the judge. At any rate, there are more important philosophical debates to tackle other than this steaming pile of veritable bullshit.
seifer @ Apr 10th 2006 1:21PM
I call shenanigans.
spencer @ Apr 10th 2006 1:23PM
Yeah potheads are the most violent people I know.
*cough*
J B Cougar @ Apr 10th 2006 1:26PM
I sort of agree. After all the BS that the Gizmondo guy has been through and dishing out over the past month, I'd have to say that it's poorly designed failed portable video game systems lead to things like grand theft auto and organized crime, and not games like GTA3.
Snake @ Apr 10th 2006 1:33PM
You people do realize, that Microsoft is in the process of trying to secure the next version of GTA for the Xbox360. right?
oh ... and by the way Xbox sold 3,258 units this week in JAPAN a sharp increase from previous weekly sales of around 1,000 units per week.
fawazr @ Apr 10th 2006 1:33PM
Way to slant the coverage, eh?
The study does take the individual's history into account and mostly draws a link between violence and increased likelyhood to do risky things. In other words, violence-addicted gamers tend to have anti-social nihilistic traits. Is that a surprise? I've personally had run-ins with idiots who, after a few hours of pixelated courage, think they're as much a bad-ass as their onscreen avatrs, but... they're not. We have to stop defending these livingroom toughguys. And we should stop pretending that someone who is rewarded for and gets off on beating up virtual hookers and cops won't exhibit some of those traits in the real world. Sure, there'll be people who'll say, "but I play 18 hours of GTA a day and I still lead Bible study and volunteer time at the Kill Shelter." Maybe gamers like that do exist, but then we'd just have to take their word for it, wouldn't we?
"According to the report in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, playing a violent game caused young men's blood pressure to increase, and appeared to have a greater effect on those that came from violent homes or communities. No matter what background each male had, the researchers found that playing a violent game made the young men in the study less cooperative and more competitive in completing tasks with another person."
Hart704 @ Apr 10th 2006 1:34PM
Actually, I more likely to kill someone or drink more when I keep read about these utter BS studies.
Phranctoast @ Apr 10th 2006 1:36PM
If you believe this BS... i Have another for ya
!!! BREAD IS DANGEROUS !!!
Research on bread indicates that:
1. More than 98 percent of convicted felons are bread users.
2. Fully HALF of all children who grow up in bread-consuming households score below average on standardized tests.
3. In the 18th century, when virtually all bread was baked in the home, the average life expectancy was less than 50 years; infant mortality rates were unacceptably high; many women died in childbirth; and diseases such as typhoid, yellow fever, and influenza ravaged whole nations.
4. More than 90 percent of violent crimes are committed within 24 hours of eating bread.
5. Bread is made from a substance called "dough." It has been proven that as little as one pound of dough can be used to suffocate a mouse. The average American eats more bread than that in one month!
6. Primitive tribal societies that have no bread exhibit a low incidence of cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, and osteoporosis.
7. Bread has been proven to be addictive. Subjects deprived of bread and given only water to eat begged for bread after as little as two days.
8. Bread is often a "gateway" food item, leading the user to "harder" items such as butter, jelly, peanut butter, and even cold cuts.
9. Bread has been proven to absorb water. Since the human body is more than 90 percent water, it follows that eating bread could lead to your body being taken over by this absorptive food product, turning you into a soggy, gooey bread-pudding person.
10. Newborn babies can choke on bread.
11. Bread is baked at temperatures as high as 400 degrees Fahrenheit! That kind of heat can kill an adult in less than one minute.
12. Most American bread eaters are utterly unable to distinguish between significant scientific fact and meaningless statistical babbling.
In light of these frightening statistics, it has been proposed that the following bread restrictions be made:
1. No sale of bread to minors.
2. A nationwide "Just Say No To Toast" campaign, complete celebrity TV spots and bumper stickers.
3. A 300 percent federal tax on all bread to pay for all the societal ills we might associate with bread.
4. No animal or human images, nor any primary colors (which may appeal to children) may be used to promote bread usage.
5. The establishment of "Bread-free" zones around schools.
This article was written by B.S. Wheatberry in a desert after consuming mass quantities of yeast bread then realizing his canteen was empty. (seriously :P )
LaughingTarget @ Apr 10th 2006 1:37PM
The science community hasn't been scoring well in the reliability department lately. You got your Global Warming claim going on, the faked stem cell research, and now this half-baked (pun intended) claim that games cause drug use.
I'm going to play Oblivion, someone wake me when the science community gets its scruples back.
FSK405K @ Apr 10th 2006 1:38PM
According to the graphic at the beginning of this article, apparently video games lead to the criminalization of both drugs and alcohol. Let's see Jack Thompson go chase that ambulance to Capitol Hill.
Curagea @ Apr 10th 2006 1:40PM
How the hell did that study come up with the conclusion that those gamers are more likely to smoke pot and drink? Did they give them a bunch of *suspicious* packets and tell them, "Go ahead, folks. Make my day!" And 100 guys isn't a very good sample. If those professors want better proof, they should have gotten a larger (and random) sample consisting of both men and women, and randomly assign them the two games, not give them a choice.
This study could have been done a LOT better. I've taken only basic statistics and yet I know this study is botched, unless there's more details on how the study was conducted.
By the way, which UC did that one professor belong to? If it's Berkeley, my view of the campus while attending here will be, to say the least, more cynical.
fawazr @ Apr 10th 2006 1:43PM
"The science community hasn't been scoring well in the reliability department lately. You got your Global Warming claim going on, the faked stem cell research, and now this half-baked (pun intended) claim that games cause drug use."
Is this the portrait of today's gamers?
Now I can understand why the gaming community's responses to these studies are always so one-sided.
DIEGO @ Apr 10th 2006 1:44PM
people do things because they want to not because a video game
rockinrobbie @ Apr 10th 2006 1:44PM
Personally I think they have it all backwards. Its the drugs that lead to GTA3. See if no one did drugs then no one would play GTA. I mean, I was getting high and drunk long before playing GTA.
FSK405K @ Apr 10th 2006 1:44PM
from the linked news source:
"After playing one of the games, the males participating in the study were shown a scenario of a teacher telling his class that he suspects some students have cheated, but also that he is proud of those who did well. The teacher then asks a boy called Billy to stay behind after class so that he may speak with him. Participants were then asked to put themselves in Billy's position. When asked how likely it was that the teacher was going to accuse them of cheating, those participants who had been playing Grand Theft Auto were more likely think they would be accused."
wtf? this has to do with violence how?
mwahaha @ Apr 10th 2006 1:46PM
My personal studies have determined that my penis is a gateway to unworldly pleasures. Wait, you don't believe that? Yeah, I don't believe this study either.
SickNic @ Apr 10th 2006 1:48PM
18 - 20 year olds? The college crowds? Hmmm.... Maybe they should take a wider random sampling instead of picking the ages where thats when most people drink and smoke...
Ace_ofspades @ Apr 10th 2006 1:51PM
Jeezus. What next, "Video games cause blindness and hairy palms"?
Sir Stank @ Apr 10th 2006 2:00PM
GTA makes me pretty amped but what really gets me stressed is a few hours of NBA Ballers!!!!!
boots @ Apr 10th 2006 2:02PM
What pisses me off is that most of these "studies" are made by people that have never ever grabbed a controller. Once Nintendo unleashes its next-gen console, maybe things will change as the market expands. Viva la revoluci?
Sean DL @ Apr 10th 2006 2:03PM
For every five studies like this, there are another five that say other wise.
This is WHY it's a study and NOT a fact. ]
Now, breathe everyone, and think before you post and start trashing the whole science community for a couple of studies that'll be disprove next month and then re-proven in five months.
Unlike religion, this isn't the infallible, but it is used by those who want to be "right"
Dmek @ Apr 10th 2006 2:04PM
peopleintrees, you wanna hit this bowl?
LaughingTarget @ Apr 10th 2006 2:08PM
22 - Given that this study follows the exact same pattern and repeats the same flaws all previous rebuked, by non-gaming sociologists and psychologists at that, studies that tried to attribute some anti-social behavior (such as crime and violence) to gaming it is safe to say it is half-baked. Even in the face of declining drug use, these "scientists" continue to try and attribute gaming, an activity on the rise, to it.
Just like Global Warming advocates who use .0015% of all available data to make a sweeping generalization or the proven faked Korean stem-cell research, these guys are trying to utilize their position as "scientists" to sway public policy, not enhance our knowledge of the world.
People like that make me sick. Science is meant to further expand our horizons and give us the ability to know that which we otherwise didn't. It is not meant to be used as a political weapon, especially when it is faked or otherwise twisted to fit into a political viewpoint. A purist scientists like myself (although business-related science, with minor in physics and chemistry) vomit at the idea these people are representing the learned community with this tripe.
That is why I said I will be saving Tamriel from the threat of Mehrunes Dagon while these guys try and find their ethics, which were misplaced back in the mid-70's when the whole "new ice age" thing was going around.
Scooby Doo @ Apr 10th 2006 2:32PM
Has anyone actually seen a copy of the report? Not some dumb-downed paraphrased version, but that actual report itself. I tried, but couldn't find anything. (And shame on you James for using that title above.)
In everything that I've been able to read, the researchers are trying determine if playing violent- or drug-themed video games may desensitize a person to their own morale or societal standards they feel about drug use and violence. Before anyone quickly dismisses the article as 'bunk', I would urge you to do a little more research since that could actually be scientifically true. Although I would be the first to admit that it would be helpful to find out who funded this study, just so that we understand the motivators.
The headline for this article is a loaded gun, but it needs to be understood that science doesn't ask questions like "Does GTA lead to violence and drug use?"
It's supposed to be asking questions like "If I take half of men ages 18-21 and let them play GTA, and then take the other half and don't let them play any video games, is there a noted difference in the responses they give about morale questions involving violence and drugs?" Conclusions can be given in a report, but they are highly subjective. Research reports aren't really supposed to have opinions in them, just facts and data.
I know nothing of the control groups that they used. Are the Hit & Run players supposed to be considered the 'control' group because that game is less violent than GTA? I have no idea how they determined that those that played GTA are 'more at risk'. Did they provide them a questionnaire or an interview? Was it anonymous? Was EVERYONE allowed to pick either game?
This report seems to only cover a very small part of the equation. While the bread comment is a bit much, you could also say that exposure to Gangster Rap culture increases the risk to violence and drug use. That doesn't mean it LEADS TO those events, but from a psychological point-of-view, it may be scientifically correct.
So, I caution people to put this into context. The report itself is probably answering a very small question and unless the researchers are idiots, they are probably not drawing a line of GTA=Violence and drugs, but rather trying to answer a simple question using a method that would be approved by the American Psychiatric Association.
Now the REAL question to be worried about is what if researchers DO find a DIRECT link between violence and video games? As noted by myself and others here, there really isn't a lot of good research one way or the other. If you try to say that video games do or don't contribute you're just being an idiot, because no one in the world can conclusively say so that I know of.
The above article only establishes one piece of the puzzle and so far it doesn't even fit right, but it is one that doesn't bode well for our hobby. I caution people on both the right and left sides of this issue to use a little more moderation and a little more thought before jumping to conclusions. You risk making us all look like fools or that we're so opinionated about our industry that we cannot make level-headed decisions for ourselves.
Chrispy @ Apr 10th 2006 2:43PM
This'll probably come off like another pro-video games guy that will spew out anything in defense of them, but it's the truth.
If anything, games like the GTA ones have made me not want to live a life of crime or drugs. I see the negative effects through games much more than any movie portrays them - for me, at least I think about what's going on and how I wouldn't want to risk my life over something foolish like being in a gang. Movies, on the other hand seem to glamourize being a criminal.
I'm not trying to trash movies, but I think that it's just far too easy to make a connection between playing video games like GTA and emulating them in real life.
momo @ Apr 10th 2006 2:51PM
I'm 100% positive that Mario Party leads to alcohol consumption much more often than GTA.
jojo29 @ Apr 10th 2006 2:55PM
My question: Were the 100, who at 18-21 are prone to peer pressure to smoke and drink, already smoking and drinking BEFORE the study? really i cant stand these types of surveys as they are meaningless. In fact when i wasnt playing video games, is when i did get into the most trouble, i.e. was out in the real world where peer pressure thrives, NOT in the 'safety' of my own living room. Man theres so many pro's of playing video games but these dumbass professors trying to make a name for themselves always concentrate on the negatives.
Gonzo @ Apr 10th 2006 2:58PM
Thank You Phranktoast
I too think it's about time to get dangerous bread out of the hands of minors. They just don't know how dangerous it is.
I probably shouldn't be commenting on this but young people are going to want to try alcohol and weed (mostly because the alcohol is harder to get)for as long as they're treated like (and considered) second class citizens.
The fact of the matter is that teens are board. They start thinking for themselves and feeling a need for their own directions but they are essentially given the same rights as toddlers. Give them other distractions (the right to drive at least; then they'll be less likely to drink & do drugs) and a few places other than church to go to after school and they won't have the time to try weed and frankly, for some kids weed is probably the best thing that could happen to them. As a teen, I knew some kids who were absolute basket cases until they tried pot. It just seemed to make them normal.
Also
These guys obviously never tried playing GTA while smoking a joint. It's hard: you have both hands on the controls, the smoke is going in your eyes, and the whole time your friend is yelling at you for bogarting it when you just don't have a chance to get a hand free to pass it.
Say no to drugs kids!
Goobers @ Apr 10th 2006 3:06PM
to fawazr,
so, what games do you play?
i'm not denying there's a "correlation" of violent games to violent individuals... but at the same time, how much media coverage is there about "good" people that still play violent games?
you don't hear about nationally nominated, community serving teens that can play any GTA blindfolded. okay, that might be stretching it... i mean, go to community centers, find honor roll students, ask them... do they play games like GTA? run a survey at various top schools and ask just what games they've played. I'm sure you'll get a vast variety of games... including "violent games". then ask have they commited any crimes? do they think about it? ask them to respond about a year after they've left school, how many have jobs/careers... how many are in jail?
my take on it is, it's violent people that cause violence, not violent video games. however big or small the group of people that can/do play such games, while NOT causing such violence (anyone with the mental capacity to distinguish right from wrong AND the morale capacity NOT to do wrong)... is apparently, just not important enough to be recognized.
Anthony M @ Apr 10th 2006 3:10PM
Like Scooby Doo, I too am afraid of how this gaming community handles scientific reports such as these. Unless you are a statitician and/or read the actual report, please refrain from pointing out the "faults."
From what I know, 100 people can say a lot about a specific group. Heck, 1000 people determine the results of national polls. Also, correlation and causation are two completely different things. Shame on Joystiq for inferring the study proves causation, when it simply concludes a slight correlation.
And you have to wonder why we see reports like this all the time. Is it because there is some sort of conspiricy behind all of these studies? Has the scientific community gone completely batshit insane?
It begs the question - Where are all the reports showing no signifiant correlation between violent video games and an increase in risk-taking behaviors? Also, why isn't Joystiq covering such stories? Please, think about these questions next time before drawing your own conclusions on scientific studies.
hello @ Apr 10th 2006 3:11PM
games make me violent. when i was a kid i had a sega with one game only (lion king) and because it was a cartidge it hardly worked so i would scream and toss it at the wall and kick the sega.
thats really true. but now i play actually violent(far cry and such) pc games and i'm a very nice guy. i have a rosey on my desk, detest war, hate guns, and don't eat meat.
they should due a study of the girls who play the sims and how many of them become stalkers or how many people who play sim city with disasters on become terrorist or think they are god.
jaemz @ Apr 10th 2006 3:25PM
Goobers, I partly agree with you.
However, I can recall many times where violence media seems to trigger a violent behavior in people:
-as a kid, my friends and I only used to wrestle after we would watch WWF on Saturday mornings (back in the days of Cyndi Lauper managing Lou Albano). Any other day of the week we were playing normal kids games.
-leaving a Martial Arts movie, I am bound to see at least a few kids try an impromptu karate kick on the nearest light post.
I believe that there is something in human nature that makes kids wants to emanate what they see others/adults doing. Without proper guidance from their parents, I think any media can be dangerous to kids at some degree.
(I am by no means saying that this is scientific, nor is it proof against any study... just something I noticed and have intuitive feelings about)
.02
Goobers @ Apr 10th 2006 3:41PM
jaemz
can't argue with you there...
so then, doesn't that just end up leading back to parenting and the individual's ability to know and the ability decide what to do? (less of the individual's ability, requires more parenting and vice versa!)
Spoon @ Apr 10th 2006 3:42PM
I smoke weed almost every week, and half the video games I own have "Mario" in the title.
Go figure.
jay @ Apr 10th 2006 3:53PM
I love how everyone is poo pooing this proven theory. It works in my real life so yeah.
I loved Simpsons Hit and Run. I don't do drugs or anything crap like that.
One of my mates (the only one who does drugs) spends all his time watching shitty American drug movies and playing GTA.
I don't know if there is a direct link. But there is SOME link.
I play most Nintendo 1st party games, I play HL2 Deathmatch a fair bit, I'm studying hard on a BSc course, I have a long term relationship, I don't smoke, drink or do anything crap like that.
jaemz @ Apr 10th 2006 3:55PM
totally, but it's not as easy as that either...
Wisedom tells us that it takes a community to raise a child. When children are not being raised properly, do we have the option of blaming the community for it's failure? Can we blame parents? How about the politicians?
In the end, I really don't think blame will take us anwhere... a dog chasing it's tail doesn't seem to travel very far.
Personally, I think proper parenting is needed. But where do parents get the education, or even the motivation for that education? If they are too busy working 80hrs a week to cover the costs of living and providing for their kids... well, how do you fix that?
rainking187 @ Apr 10th 2006 6:27PM
I have to agree with Number 24, I've played a few of the GTA games, and I'd believe that you'd have to be high to find them enjoyable.
Stu @ Apr 10th 2006 9:48PM
This comic says it all.
http://www.myextralife.com/archive.php?date=2006-04-10
Though hilarious, it brings up a wickedly valid point. You can't just say that "violent games incite violence" because then that statement would have to be true to all other types of video games lest the entire concept be trash (which it already is)
Curagea @ Apr 10th 2006 10:13PM
Granted I went a bit on the ranty side, but now after reading the newer comments, I feel we need to consider a couple of things:
As Scooby Doo mentioned (#34), has anyone seen the report? I mentioned this before; it would be really nice to see the actual report. That news article didn't say much. It'll be VERY nice to see how the study was conducted.
As to #40: Those national polls that I hear about are to me dubious, maybe not all, but some. They're usually made with just 1000 people or so, when there's in fact millions of people in the US. Are we all represented equally? Are regions of residence, age, gender, race, income, etc. etc. considered, if the polls require these factors? Maybe the general public can't understand the gritty details, but still it would still be nice to release them to the public so that people can have a say and perhaps point out any discrepancies.
All right, so I'm not a professional statistician, but I've taken a basics course on it and can see that if a study is to be taken seriously, it must be detailed. Where was it done? How was it conducted? What kind of subjects were chosen? Because there seems to be no sign of a detailed study report, we can't take this gaming study seriously until 1. that report is actually made public; and/or 2. some jackass like Jack Thompson decides to use it for his cause, in which case we can laugh at him more.
There's something else that I'd like to add, in that after playing a video game or watching a movie (or any other form of entertainment), I've noticed that there would be some kids who act like they're trying to be the main characters of a certain medium, but that's only for perhaps the first 5 minutes after the entertainment ended. Then, they just turn their minds to something else and forget about what they just saw or played. I personally experienced this; after playing RE4, for example, I felt like I wanted to blast someone's head off. Then the feeling wore off and I started worrying about homework.
Perhaps that sudden increase in violent intent is only temporary, a result of adrenaline surge while playing violent games, that would drop off soon. I really don't know if others feel this way, but my point is: Maybe there ought to be a study where subjects are tested after not playing a game for a certain amount of time.
Something of that sort, at least.
crono141 @ Apr 10th 2006 10:38PM
*Waits for Jacko with popcorn in hand*
What? Its an article about a study showing GTA3 to be bad for society. of COURSE Jacko's gonna come and "rub it in our faces". He's too bored not to.