Developmental scientists have been concerned about the effects of violent video games on children and adolescents for decades. This concern has led to a phenomenal amount of high-quality research and sophisticated theories that have allowed several specific testable hypotheses to be formulated about the potential short-term and long-term effects of these games. In the proposed volume, the authors use the General Aggression Model (GAM) as a basis for explaining and predicting effects and changes in aggression related to exposure to violent video games. They also describe how a developmental risk and resilience model can be integrated into GAM to enhance our ability to predict long-term changes based on violent media exposure in conjunction with other risk factors for aggression. The authors conclude that playing violent video games is, indeed, a risk factor for aggressive behaviour regardless of sex, age, or prior aggressive behaviour.

Violent video games are successfully marketed to and easily obtained by children and adolescents. Even the U.S. government distributes one such game, America's Army, through both the internet and its recruiting offices. Is there any scientific evidence to support the claims that violent games contribute to aggressive and violent behaviour? Anderson, Gentile, and Buckley first present an overview of empirical research on the effects of violent video games, and then add to this literature three new studies that fill the most important gaps. They update the traditional General Aggression Model to focus on both developmental processes and how media-violence exposure can increase the likelihood of aggressive and violent behaviour in both short and long-term contexts. Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents also reviews the history of these games' explosive growth, and explores the public policy options for controlling their distribution. Anderson et al. describe the reaction of the games industry to scientific findings that exposure to violent video games and other forms of media violence constitutes a significant risk factor for later aggressive and violent behavior. They argue that society should begin a more productive debate about whether to reduce the high rates of exposure to media violence, and delineate the public policy options that are likely be most effective. As the first book to unite empirical research on and public policy options for violent video games, Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents will be an invaluable resource for student and professional researchers in social and developmental psychology and media studies.