According to a new study sponsored by Iowa State University's Center for the Study of Violence, both American and Japanese kids became more aggressive after playing video games over a period of 3-6 months. Specifically, it was found that exposure to violent video games was a causal risk factor for aggression and violence.

According to Dr. Anderson: "Basically what we found was that...a lot of violent video game play early in a school year leads to higher levels of aggression during the school year..."

The study has drawn its fair share of international spotlight, especially given that Anderson has recently started to collaborate with a number of prominent Japanese research bodies. Anderson is of the belief that Japan's cultural differences with the U.S. make it attractive for the comparison studies.

Dr. Anderson explains: "The culture is so different and their overall violence rate is so much lower than in the U.S. The argument has been made...that all our research on violent video game effects must be wrong because Japanese kids play a lot of violent video games and Japan has a low violence rate."

He continues: "Is it the case that Japanese kids are totally unaffected by playing violent video games?' [They] aren't. They're affected pretty much the same way American kids are."

Once again, it's worth emphasizing that violent video games are not the sole cause of dysfunctional behavior in kids, and that ultimately, good parenting can make all the difference in a child's self-actualization.

However, these recent studies do suggest that violent games are a part of the puzzle in understanding rising rates of aggression in both America and Japan.

What do you think? Feel free to chime in on this highly controversial but equally fascinating topic.

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