Do Children Who Bully Their Peers Also Play Violent Video Games? A Canadian National Study

Abstract

The study examined whether children who bully others are likely to prefer playing video games that are rated high in maturity and violence. A stratified random sample of Canadian children ages 10 to 17 years from the provinces of Canada was obtained. Parents (n = 397) and their children (n = 492) completed an online survey of children's bullying behaviors and their three favorite video games. Ordinal logistic regression analyses showed that parents’ and children's reports of child preferences for mature and violent video games were significantly related to children's perpetration of bullying and cyberbullying. Panel regression analyses revealed no significant difference between parent and child informants. Children who play highly violent and mature video games were likely to bully and cyberbully their peers, according to both parent and child reports.

Keywords:

• bullying
• cyberbullying
• video game maturity
• video game violence
• parent and child reports