Three positive mental aspects of playing video games.
Video games are linked to higher intellectual functioning in children, new research finds.
In addition, the more children played video games, the better adjusted they were at school.
The findings come from a study of children aged 6-11.
Researchers found no link between mental health and video game use.
They did find, however, that video game use was linked to better relationship with their peers.
Dr Katherine M. Keyes, one of the study’s authors, said:
“Video game playing is often a collaborative leisure time activity for school-aged children.
These results indicate that children who frequently play video games may be socially cohesive with peers and integrated into the school community.
We caution against over interpretation, however, as setting limits on screen usage remains and important component of parental responsibility as an overall strategy for student success.
Naturally, an association cannot show that computer games have a causative effect. Future research is required…
The study was published in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology (Kovess-Masfety et al., 2016).
Video games image from Shutterstock
