New survey sheds light on video-game addiction

A study of 1,178 American youngsters, aged eight to 18, by researchers from Iowa State University, looked into the nature and extent of addiction to video games. The researchers used the same criteria for video game addiction as that used to diagnose pathological gambling. The study found that 8.5% of the gamers were pathological players whose game playing caused damage to their family, social and school lives and whose mental health was being affected by their obsession. The pathological gamers played video games 24 hours per week and were more likely to have video-game systems in their bedrooms. They had more trouble paying attention in school, received poorer grades and had more health problems. They were also more than twice as likely to have been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

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http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKTRE53G5JD20090417?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews