Aggression and Preference for First-Person Shooter and Action Games: Data From a Large-Scale Survey of German Gamers Aged 14 and Above

Breuer Johannes, Festl Ruth, Quandt Thorsten

Abstract

Cross-sectional studies on video game violence and aggression have yielded contradictory results. Parts of this inconclusiveness can be attributed to the limitation to particular age groups. The present study investigated the relationship between preference for action and first-person shooter (FPS) games and aggression for the groups of adolescents (14-18), younger (19-39), and older adults (40+) in a sample of German gamers (N = 4,500). The strength of the association differed between age groups. Even after controlling for gender, education, social support, self-efficacy, and overall video game use, we found a significant relationship between preference for action and FPS games and physical aggression that was strongest for the adolescents. We found no such association for anger and verbal aggression. The results indicate that potential selection or socialization effects are likely to differ with age and that research on video games and aggression can benefit from the inclusion of more heterogeneous samples. © 2014 Copyright Eastern Communication Association.