Game-On Girls: Pro-social Outcomes of Co-playing VG with parents (study)

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Can playing video games with your children (co-play) influence behavioral and family outcomes? The authors of this study sought to determine the role co-playing video games had on family connectedness, levels of aggression, and pro-social behavior. By asking questions from numerous other questionnaires like “How often do you play video games with your parent?, and "My parent is responsive to my feelings and needs/ I am responsive to my child’s feelings and needs.” the researchers used structural equation modeling to determine how video game co-playing is a predictor of adolescents’ internalizing problems, aggression, delinquency, prosocial behavior, and connection with parents.

Details:

- n=287 adolescents and their parents

- completed questionnaires on video game play and behavioral and family related questions

Findings:

- Co-playing video games with parents was associated with decreased levels of internalizing and

aggressive behaviors, and heightened prosocial behavior for girls only.

- Co-playing video games was also marginally related to parent–child connectedness for girls

Exergaming Benefits
- Playing regular games together can bring a sense of connectedness between adolescents and parents, but I think sharing a physical exergaming experience heightens that sense even more (relatedness)
- Imagine designing your the look of your avatar with your parents (autonomy)
- Imagine choosing different dance routines that can compliment your and your parents abilities (competency)
- To follow more on the supports and benefits to exergaming as a family, be sure to check out some of the articles listed below - especially Ann Maloney's work from Maine Medical Center Research Institute.

Click here for more studies involving video games in the ExerGame Lab archives. 

Coyne, S., Padilla-Walker, L., Stockdale, L., & Day, R. (2011). Game On… Girls: Associations Between Co-playing Video Games and Adolescent Behavioral and Family Outcomes Journal of Adolescent Health DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.11.249

Maloney AE, Bethea TC, Kelsey KS, Marks JT, Paez S, Rosenberg AM, Catellier DJ, Hamer RM, & Sikich L (2008). A pilot of a video game (DDR) to promote physical activity and decrease sedentary screen time. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 16 (9), 2074-80 PMID: 19186332


Paez S, Maloney A, Kelsey K, Wiesen C, & Rosenberg A (2009). Parental and environmental factors associated with physical activity among children participating in an active video game. Pediatric physical therapy : the official publication of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy Association, 21 (3), 245-53 PMID: 19680066

For the abstract, check after the jump...

Purpose: Video game use has been associated with several behavioral and health outcomes for adolescents. The aim of the current study was to assess the relationship between parental co-play of video games and behavioral and family outcomes.

Method: Participants consisted of 287 adolescents and their parents who completed a number of video game-, behavioral-, and family-related questionnaires as part of a wider study. Most constructs included child, mother, and father reports.

Results: At the bivariate level, time spent playing video games was associated with several negative outcomes, including heightened internalizing and aggressive behavior and lowered prosocial behavior. However, co-playing video games with parents was associated with decreased levels of internalizing and aggressive behaviors, and heightened prosocial behavior for girls only. Co-playing video games was also marginally related to parent– child connectedness for girls, even after controlling for age-inappropriate games played with parents.

Conclusions: This is the first study to show positive associations for co-playing video games between girls and their parents.