Dependence on video games as a predictor of aggression in adolescents from Eastern Lima during confinement due to COVID-19

Abstract

Introduction. COVID-19 changed the traditional way of educating, confining students to their homes and favoring the excessive use of technology and entertainment such as video games. Precisely, the excessive consumption of the latter altered the behavior of adolescents and increased their levels of aggressiveness. The present study analyzed dependence on video games as a predictor of aggression in adolescents from Eastern Lima during confinement by COVID-19. Method. The study was non-experimental, with a predictive scope, quantitative approach, and cross-section. The sample consisted of 430 high school students from 11 to 17 years old who belonged to educational institutions in Eastern Lima, to whom the Test of Dependence of Videogames (TDV) and the Aggression Questionnaire were applied. Results. The results showed a significant correlation between the variables (r=.360**; p=.000), which showed that addiction to video games predicts aggressiveness by up to 13 % (R=.360; R2=.130). Discussion or Conclusion. There is a highly positive potentiation between the variables; therefore, the greater the dependence on video games, the greater the aggressiveness in adolescents. This is due to the high levels of violence in the most popular video games that trigger impulse control, especially in men, who have higher levels of dependence on video games than women.