NCJ Number
229722
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 39 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2010 Pages: 103-113
Date Published
February 2010
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study examined the pattern of video game and Internet use among a sample of college students and how this leisure pattern might be related to risk behaviors, perceptions of self, and relationships with others.
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to gain a clearer understanding of the pattern of video game and internet use among college students and to examine how electronic leisure was related to risk behaviors (i.e., drinking, drug use, sex), perceptions of the self (i.e., self worth and social acceptance), and relationships with others (i.e., relationship quality with parents and friends). Participants included 813 undergraduate students (500 young women, 313 young men, M age = 20, SD = 1.87) who were mainly European American (79 percent), unmarried (100 percent) and living outside their parents' home (90 percent). Results suggested that (a) video game use was linked to negative outcomes for men and women, (b) different patterns of video game and internet use existed for men and women and (c) there were different relations to risk behaviors, feelings about the self, and relationship quality based on the type of internet use, and based on gender. The discussion focuses on the implications of electronic leisure on the overall health and development of young people as they transition to adulthood. Tables and references (Published Abstract)