Study: Video Games Don’t Trigger Aggression in Adults With Autism
US News & World Report:
Politicians pushed for a crackdown on violent video games after speculation arose that they spurred Newtown school shooter Adam Lanza – who had autism spectrum disorder – to commit one of the deadliest massacres in U.S. history, killing 26 children and educators before taking his own life.
But a new study from the University of Missouri indicates that violent video games do not increase aggression in adults with autism spectrum disorder any more than they do in people without autism.
“We wanted to try to provide some evidence on the issue,” says lead author Christopher Engelhardt, a postdoctoral fellow in the University of Missouri School of Health Professions and the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders. “We couldn’t specifically study [what triggers violence in individuals] because it’s not ethical to do so. But what we could do is study the willingness to aggress following exposure to violent video games.”
Read the whole story: US News & World Report
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