Children that have a healthy relationship with their parent of the same sex are at a reduced risk of video game addiction. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Research has revealed that children that have a healthy relationship with their parent of the same sex are at a reduced risk of video game addiction.
A son’s relationship with his father, and a daughter’s with her mother can determine how an overindulgence in video games affects academic activities.
A team of sociologists from Yonsei University led by professor Yoo-sik Yeom revealed its findings after surveying 5,220 middle and high school students from across the country.
The team surveyed both the amount of time spent playing video games, and the level of addiction. The addiction metric was determined by observing how much of subjects’ daily lives were affected, and symptoms of withdrawal, if any.
The researchers also analyzed how the level of addiction influenced ‘academic diligence’, which included attendance and the quality of schoolwork.
The results were different for both genders.
For male students, more time spent playing video games indicated lower levels of academic diligence. However, more developed paternal relationships (how close one is to their father) reduced the likelihood of the result.
A healthy father-son relationship helped protect long hours of game-playing from having an effect on academics, whereas a strong mother-son relationship did not appear to have the similar effect.
Parental relationships, however, were still not effective for students with high levels of gaming addiction.
Similar patterns were observed for female students, and the relationship held even for students with higher levels of gaming addiction.
“We’re not clear on why such differences exist between genders, but we believe it’s the gender connection that somewhat affected the results,” said professor Kyoung-mi Kim.
More time spent playing video games did not affect academic diligence for female students. The team pointed to the fact that female students tend play more ‘casual games’, which are often used as means of communication.
By Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
