A Critical Comparison of an Article on Psychological Research and a Report of the Research in the Media

“A critical comparison of an article on psychological research and a report of the research in the media”

Introduction

The aim of the research was to investigate the relationship between time spent playing video-games and mental health and academic functioning of young children. It investigated time spent playing and predictors. Data was drawn from the SCMHE project, involving 3195 children, aged 6-11, from six EU countries. To assess the children’s mental health, parents and teachers completed the SDQ and children completed the DI. Time spent playing video-games was reported by parents. Academic functioning was evaluated by teachers. Multivariable logistic regressions were used. The study concluded 20% of children played more than 5 hours/week. Being an older boy from a medium-sized family predicts the highest user, while having a less educated, single, inactive, or psychologically distressed mother predicted lower usage. Children in Western European countries were less likely to have high usage. It concluded that high usage was associated with decreases in peer relationship problems, 1.75 times higher intellectual functioning and 1.88 times higher overall school competence. There were no significant associations with high usage and mental health problems.

The main idea expressed in the media piece is researchers found that playing on-screen games appears to positively effect childrens’ mental health, cognitive and social skills. It claims that children aged 8-18 spend 7 hours/day on various forms of media, that 70% of American teens have a TV in their bedroom and 50% have a game console. They say 20% of children played for more than 5h per week, stating older boys from medium-sized families are the most likely to spend time playing video games. Children with less educated, single, inactive or psychologically distressed mothers were less likely to play. They also express the need to limit media usage for children. It claimed that studies that investigated the relationship between obesity, addiction, suicidality or desensitization to aggression and playing video games were proven to be contradictory or inclonclusive.

Crtitique

A main strength in the research, is the large and diverse population (3195 children from 6 different countries). As stated by Landridge and Hagger-Johnson (2009, p.190), by increasing the sample size, the power of a test is increased. The diversity of the population means it’s more likely to be an accurate representation of the the larger population.

The study conducted was ethically sound. Researchers showed respect for participants as each country received the support of their government, their minister for education and of the relevant ethical committees. The fact that the study was self administered means the researcher exerted less control over participants. This leads to fewer ethical problems due to the researcher influencing participants to continue the survey (Mitchell & Jolley, 2012, p.288).