Violent video games play, aggressive behaviour and parental mediation

Objective: Several studies have shown that there exists a correlation between violent video games play and aggressive behaviour. We studied a sample of Nigerian in-school adolescents in order to examine the moderating role of parental mediation in the correlation between violent video games play and in-school adolescents' aggressive behaviour. Method: The sample for this correlational survey consisted of six hundred and three schooling adolescents from one of the education zones in Anambra State, Nigeria. Data collection was done by employing self-rated questionnaires. Data analysis and interpretation were achieved through regression analysis. Results: Results revealed that parental mediation is a significant moderator of the relationship between exposure to violent video games and aggressive behaviour among in-school adolescents, R² = .67, F(1, 602) = 900.28, β = .87, p < .001. Conclusion: Effective parental mediation practices may lessen the risk of aggressive behaviour associated with the playing of video games having violent contents. Parents should assume responsibility for influencing positively adolescents' video games play.