Psychology, SocialNCT03259139
Exposure to Gun Violence in Video Games Increases Interest in Real Guns
A study testing Video games and violence in people with Psychology, Social and Adolescent Behavior, run by Ohio State University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
More American children die by accidental gun use than children in other developed countries. One factor that can influence children's interest in guns is exposure to media containing guns. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 8 to 12 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Psychology, Social, Adolescent Behavior
- What is being tested?
- Video games and violence
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 250 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 1 Jul 2017to 24 Aug 2018
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 8 to 12 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child
Who may be able to join
- Age 8-12yrs, had not participated in study prior, was able to schedule participation with a known peer (8-12yo).
Who cannot join
- Younger than 8yo, older than 12yo, had participated in study prior, could not schedule participation with a known peer (8-12yo)
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Effect of Exposure to Gun Violence in Video Games on Children's Interest in Real Guns: A Randomized Clinical Trial
More American children die by accidental gun use than children in other developed countries. One factor that can influence children's interest in guns is exposure to media containing guns. The objective of this study is to test whether children who play a video game containing guns will handle a real gun longer, will pull the trigger more times, and pull the trigger while pointing the gun at themselves or another than children who see the same movie without guns.
Read the detailed description
The design will be a 2 (player vs. observer) x 3 (nonviolent, violent with sword, violent with gun) between-subjects study. Participants will randomly be assigned to conditions. Participants will be tested in pairs. The participant in the player condition will play a video game while the participant in the watcher condition will watch. The participants will be in the same room, seated next to each other.
Video games will be chosen for the three conditions which have no violent content (nonviolent condition), violent content with a sword as a weapon for the player (violent with sword condition), and violent content with a gun as a weapon (violent with gun condition). All games chosen will be age appropriate (rated E) and have a consistent perspective (i.e., 1st person or 3rd person) between conditions. Participants will be asked how familiar they are with the video game used to control for experience with the stimulus. Gameplay will last for 20 minutes.
The measures for experiment 3 will include the media habits, aggressive behavior, attitude toward guns, and guns in the home measures listed for experiment 1. In addition, parents will be asked if their children have taken a gun safety course and a behavioral measure will be whether or not children handle a real (but non-firing) gun and whether they pull the trigger.
Participants will be tested in pairs, with a sibling or friend. Participants will be placed in a room containing toys, with a camera on the wall. Participants will be told that they can play with any of the toys in the room for the next 20 minutes. The toys will be placed will be placed in drawers inside a cabinet. Inside the room, two brightly colored plastic Nerf dart guns and two handguns will be placed in separate drawers, as in previous research. The handguns will be modified so they cannot fire. Inside the magazine, the handguns contain no bullets. They do, however, contain a sensor that counts the number of times the trigger is depressed with sufficient force to discharge the weapon. This allows us to distinguish reliably the children who pull the trigger from those who only handle the gun. Parents will be asked to predict whether their child will handle the real gun and pull the trigger. The researcher and the parents will be able to watch the session via a monitor in a control room. A thorough debriefing will follow (see attachment). The investigators also have received letters of support from the Director of the School of Communication and from the Chief of Police (see attachments). The investigators predict the highest levels of playing with guns and firing them among participants who see a violent clip containing guns.
- Conditions
- Psychology, Social, Adolescent Behavior
- Being tested
- Video games and violence
- Keywords
- adolescent, gun, violence, media
- Medical subject headings
- Adolescent Behavior
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Video games and violenceBehavioural
Participants will be randomly assigned to play a video game which contains either (1) no violent content, (2) violent content with swords, or (3) violent content with guns. The game, rated E, is age appropriate and modded to include guns in the appropriate condition.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Experimental: Violence with guns | Experimental | Participants in this condition will play a video game with violent content which includes guns. Receives: Behavioral: Video games and violence |
| Experimental: Violence without guns | Experimental | Participants in this condition will play a video game with violent content which does not include guns. Instead, the violence will include weapons such as swords. Receives: Behavioral: Video games and violence |
| Control: No violence | Other | Participants in this condition will play a video game which contains no violent content or weapons. Receives: Behavioral: Video games and violence |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Time Spent Holding Gun
Time (in seconds) participant spent holding the real firearm during the play session
Measured: 20 minute play session
Number of Trigger Pulls
Number of times participant pulled trigger of real firearm during the play session
Measured: 20 minute play session
Number of Trigger Pulls Aimed at Self or Other
Trigger pulls while the firearm is aimed at the child holding the firearm or the other participant.
Measured: 20 minute play session
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted23 Aug 2017
- Study start1 Jul 2017
- Primary completion24 Aug 2018
- Study completion24 Aug 2018
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, outcome measures and adverse events reported by the sponsor.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Psychology, SocialStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Ohio State UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Model description
- Participants are randomly assigned to play a non-violent video game, a violent video game containing swords, or a violent video game containing guns.
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 250 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Ohio State University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Brad Bushman, Ohio State University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03259139
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2013B0542
- Status last verified
- Apr 2020
- First submitted
- 22 Jul 2017
- Last updated
- 11 May 2020
- Results posted
- Yes, on ClinicalTrials.gov
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided: The investigators are considering making individual participant data available, but need to determine steps and appropriateness according to our institutional IRB board.
Publications
Chang JH, Bushman BJ. Effect of Exposure to Gun Violence in Video Games on Children's Dangerous Behavior With Real Guns: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2019 May 3;2(5):e194319. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.4319.
PubMed 31150072
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 11 May 2020. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Effect of Exposure to Gun Violence in Video Games on Children's Interest in Real Guns: A Randomized Clinical Trial
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03259139
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 2013B0542
- Conditions
- Psychology, Social, Adolescent Behavior
- Keywords
- adolescent, gun, violence, media
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 250 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Ohio State UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 Jul 2017 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 24 Aug 2018 (actual)
- Study completion
- 24 Aug 2018 (actual)
- First posted
- 23 Aug 2017 (actual)
- Results
- Posted 11 May 2020
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
More American children die by accidental gun use than children in other developed countries. One factor that can influence children's interest in guns is exposure to media containing guns. The objective of this study is to test whether children who play a video game containing guns will handle a real gun longer, will pull the trigger more times, and pull the trigger while pointing the gun at themselves or another than children who see the same movie without guns.
Detailed description
The design will be a 2 (player vs. observer) x 3 (nonviolent, violent with sword, violent with gun) between-subjects study. Participants will randomly be assigned to conditions. Participants will be tested in pairs. The participant in the player condition will play a video game while the participant in the watcher condition will watch. The participants will be in the same room, seated next to each other.
Video games will be chosen for the three conditions which have no violent content (nonviolent condition), violent content with a sword as a weapon for the player (violent with sword condition), and violent content with a gun as a weapon (violent with gun condition). All games chosen will be age appropriate (rated E) and have a consistent perspective (i.e., 1st person or 3rd person) between conditions. Participants will be asked how familiar they are with the video game used to control for experience with the stimulus. Gameplay will last for 20 minutes.
The measures for experiment 3 will include the media habits, aggressive behavior, attitude toward guns, and guns in the home measures listed for experiment 1. In addition, parents will be asked if their children have taken a gun safety course and a behavioral measure will be whether or not children handle a real (but non-firing) gun and whether they pull the trigger.
Participants will be tested in pairs, with a sibling or friend. Participants will be placed in a room containing toys, with a camera on the wall. Participants will be told that they can play with any of the toys in the room for the next 20 minutes. The toys will be placed will be placed in drawers inside a cabinet. Inside the room, two brightly colored plastic Nerf dart guns and two handguns will be placed in separate drawers, as in previous research. The handguns will be modified so they cannot fire. Inside the magazine, the handguns contain no bullets. They do, however, contain a sensor that counts the number of times the trigger is depressed with sufficient force to discharge the weapon. This allows us to distinguish reliably the children who pull the trigger from those who only handle the gun. Parents will be asked to predict whether their child will handle the real gun and pull the trigger. The researcher and the parents will be able to watch the session via a monitor in a control room. A thorough debriefing will follow (see attachment). The investigators also have received letters of support from the Director of the School of Communication and from the Chief of Police (see attachments). The investigators predict the highest levels of playing with guns and firing them among participants who see a violent clip containing guns.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 3
- Model description
- Participants are randomly assigned to play a non-violent video game, a violent video game containing swords, or a violent video game containing guns.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Experimental: Violence with guns | Experimental | Behavioral: Video games and violenceParticipants in this condition will play a video game with violent content which includes guns. |
| Experimental: Violence without guns | Experimental | Behavioral: Video games and violenceParticipants in this condition will play a video game with violent content which does not include guns. Instead, the violence will include weapons such as swords. |
| Control: No violence | Other | Behavioral: Video games and violenceParticipants in this condition will play a video game which contains no violent content or weapons. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 8 to 12 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Age 8-12yrs, had not participated in study prior, was able to schedule participation with a known peer (8-12yo).
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Younger than 8yo, older than 12yo, had participated in study prior, could not schedule participation with a known peer (8-12yo)
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Video games and violenceParticipants will be randomly assigned to play a video game which contains either (1) no violent content, (2) violent content with swords, or (3) violent content with guns. The game, rated E, is age appropriate and modded to include guns in the appropriate condition. | Behavioural | Control: No violence, Experimental: Violence with guns, Experimental: Violence without guns |
Primary outcome
Time Spent Holding Gun
Time frame: 20 minute play session
Time (in seconds) participant spent holding the real firearm during the play session
Number of Trigger Pulls
Time frame: 20 minute play session
Number of times participant pulled trigger of real firearm during the play session
Number of Trigger Pulls Aimed at Self or Other
Time frame: 20 minute play session
Trigger pulls while the firearm is aimed at the child holding the firearm or the other participant.
Results and safety
Loading the posted results from ClinicalTrials.gov…
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 11 May 2020.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, baseline, all outcome measures and adverse events.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 31150072Chang JH, Bushman BJ. Effect of Exposure to Gun Violence in Video Games on Children's Dangerous Behavior With Real Guns: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2019 May 3;2(5):e194319. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.4319.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided. The investigators are considering making individual participant data available, but need to determine steps and appropriateness according to our institutional IRB board.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Video games and violence in people with Psychology, Social and Adolescent Behavior, run by Ohio State University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 11 May 2020. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 11 May 2020). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Time Spent Holding Gun (time frame: 20 minute play session). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT03259139, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 11 May 2020.