青少年打遊戲成癮耽誤學業

About one in 10 videogame players show signs of addictive behavior that could have negative effects on their family, friends and school work, according to a new study.

Researchers at Iowa State University (ISU) and the National Institute on media and the Family found that some gamers show at least six symptoms of gambling addiction such as lying to family and friends about how much they play games, using the games to escape their problems and becoming restless or irritable when they stop playing.

They may also skip homework to play videogames or spend too much time playing the games and do poorly in school.

"While the medical community currently does not recognize video game addiction as a mental disorder, hopefully this study will be one of many that allow us to have an educated conversation on the positive and negative effects of video games," Dr Douglas Gentile, an assistant professor of psychology at ISU, said in a statement.

Dr David Walsh, the president of the National Institute on Media and the Family which strives to minimize the harm of media on the health and development of children and families, said the findings are a wake-up call for families.

"This study gives everyone a better idea of the scope of the problem," he explained.

The researchers, who studied 1,178 American children and teenagers, aged 8 to 18, found some displayed at least six of 11 symptoms of pathological gambling as defined by the American Psychiatric Association.

Addicted gamers played videogames 24 hours a week, twice as much as casual gamers. Some addicted gamers even steal to support their habit, according to the findings that will be published in the journal Psychological Science.

""While video games can be fun and entertaining, some kids are getting into trouble. I continue to hear from families who are concerned about their child's gaming habits. Not only do we need to focus on identifying the problem, but we need to find ways to help families prevent and treat it," said Walsh

一項最新研究發現，約十分之一的電子遊戲愛好者表現出上癮跡象，而這種上癮行爲會對他們的家庭、朋友和學習成績造成負面影響。

艾奧瓦州立大學（ISU）以及美國媒體和家庭研究所的研究人員發現，一些遊戲玩家表現出了至少六種賭癮跡象，比如不跟家人和朋友說自己打多少遊戲的實情，通過玩遊戲逃避問題以及在不打遊戲時變得坐立不安或情緒暴躁。

他們有的還不做家庭作業去打遊戲，或者將大量的時間耗費在玩遊戲上，因此學習成績很差。

艾奧瓦州立大學心理學助理教授在一份聲明中說：“目前醫學界還沒有將電子遊戲癮認定爲一種心理紊亂，但希望這項研究能讓我們在電子遊戲的積極和消極影響問題上有一個基於事實的對話。”

美國媒介和家庭研究所所長大衛•沃爾什博士說，這項研究爲愛玩電子遊戲者的家長敲響了警鐘。美國媒體和家庭研究所的宗旨是將媒介對於兒童和家庭健康和發展的危害降低到最小。

他解釋說：“該研究讓每個人對這個問題的嚴重性有了一個更好的認識。”

研究人員共對美國1178名八歲至18歲的兒童和青少年進行了研究。研究發現，在美國精神病學會所定義的11種病態賭癮症狀中，有些人表現出了其中的六種。

成癮的電子遊戲玩家每週玩遊戲達24個小時，爲偶爾玩玩者的兩倍。據將在《心理科學》期刊上發表的研究結果稱，有些上癮的玩家甚至通過偷竊來滿足自己的遊戲癮。

沃爾什說：“電子遊戲確實有意思，好玩，但卻讓一些孩子深受其害。我經常收到一些擔心孩子打遊戲上癮的家長的來信。我們不僅要盡力弄清問題，而且要找到幫助家長預防和解決孩子打遊戲成癮的辦法。”