No Link Found Between Teen Violence And Violent Video Games

It seems like every time a violent crime is committed by a youth the reaction of the common public is to blame violent video games. I've always been confused by this, having played my share of violent games in my day, yet I've never had the urge to go on a murderous rampage. Maybe it's something that just kind of happens one day without any warning. Or perhaps it is because I'm not crazy.

A study published in Psychology, Crime & Law claims that there is no connection between violent video games and violent behavior. At least not in children considered to be mentally stable. Take that Jack Thompson!

So here's my advice to the parents out there. You should know your children better than anyone else out there, which means you know if they have anger and stability issues. If this is the case, you might want to consider monitoring the games that they are playing. If you choose not to do this, don't blame the games for your child's killing spree (if it happens). Oh, and try to limit their access to deadly firearms, they have to get them somewhere, and chances are they'll look around the house first.

Study finds stable personalities unaffected by violent games [via arstechnica]