A report just released by the National Institute on Media and the Family suggests 10% of all American children between 8 and 18 years of age are likely addicted to their video games.  The report has left many parents wondering if childhood addiction to video games is real.

Institute director Douglas A. Gentile says the presence of pathological behaviors is an indicator of addiction, just as similar pathological behaviors indicate adult addictions to gambling.  The report from the Minneapolis-based institute involved a survey of almost 1,200 children who responded to questions used in gauging gambling addictions.

Survey questions included the need to play more to get the same emotional response, feelings of irritability if game time is reduced, stealing games when their own are taken away, and the tendency to lie about how much time is spent playing games.  Six ‘yes’ answers out of the entire 11-question list indicates pathological behaviors associated with addiction.  One in ten children responding to the survey responded ‘yes’ to six or more questions; more of them were boys than girls.  One criterion considered good by the research team is that almost none of the children said they’d stolen games when they couldn’t use their own.

In addition to survey responses, the 10% showing pathological tendencies also experienced more trouble in school, spent more time playing video games than the others, and were more likely to have medical histories that included ADD or ADHD diagnoses.  Another common characteristic is that, more likely than not, these children had gaming systems installed in their rooms.  About 12% of the children at highest risk were involved in some sort of physical altercation in the year before the survey.

It is impossible to say, based on this study alone, if the children showing addictive characteristics had them before the attraction to video games or if the video games caused them.  Gentile says it’s possible that poor school performance is ameliorated by the sense of mastery the video games bring and that attention difficulties that lead to poor performance in school enhance the child’s ability to master the games.

The authors of the report acknowledge there is no definition for pathological gaming that is accepted across the board but the presence of any pathological gaming characteristics are cause for concern.  They may signal deeper problems the child is experiencing that require intervention before social and school activities become problematic.  The attractions to gaming should be considered merely a symptom that calls for addressing the individual child’s bigger needs.