Excessive use of the Internet has been associated with attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but the relationship between video games
and ADHD symptoms in adolescents is unknown.
Method
A survey of adolescents and parents (n = 72 adolescents, 72
parents) was performed assessing daily time spent on the Internet, television,
console video games, and Internet video games, and their association with
academic and social functioning. Subjects were high school students in the ninth
and tenth grade. Students were administered a modified Young's Internet
Addiction Scale (YIAS) and asked questions about exercise, grades, work, and
school detentions. Parents were asked to complete the Conners' Parent Rating
Scale (CPRS) and answer questions regarding medical/psychiatric conditions in
their child.
Results
There was a significant association between time spent playing
games for more than one hour a day and YIAS (p < 0.001), overall grade point
average (p ≤ 0.019), and the "Inattention" and "ADHD" components of the CPRS (p
≤ 0.001 and p ≤ 0.020, respectively). No significant association was found
between body mass index (BMI), exercise, number of detentions, or the
"Oppositional" and "Hyperactivity" components of CPRS and video game use.
Conclusion
Adolescents who play more than one hour of console or Internet
video games may have more or more intense symptoms of ADHD or inattention than
those who do not. Given the possible negative effects these conditions may have
on scholastic performance, the added consequences of more time spent on video
games may also place these individuals at increased risk for problems in
school.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0),
