[Computer games in childhood and adolescence: relations to addictive behavior, ADHD, and aggression].
Playing computer games has become one of the main leisure activities in children and adolescents and increasingly replaces traditional playing and interactional activities. There might exist developmental benefits or positive effects of computer games that can be used for educational or therapeutic purposes. More important several studies have well demonstrated that excessive computer game playing is associated with behavior that features all components of non-chemical addiction and the prevalences across all age groups seem to be impressingly high.


OBJECTIVE
This overview relies on a Medline research. Its objective is to describe motivational and developmental characteristics attributed to computer games as well as the prevalences of computer playing in children and adolescents to better understand the risks for addictive use. We especially focus on the relations of excessive computer playing with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and aggressive behavior.


RESULTS
The results demonstrate that children with ADHD are especially vulnerable to addictive use of computer games due to their neuropsychological profile. Moreover excessive violent computer game playing might be a significant risk variable for aggressive behavior in the presence of personality traits with aggressive cognitions and behavior scripts in the consumers.


CONCLUSIONS
The increasing clinical meaning of addictive computer games playing urgently necessitates the development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools for clinical practice as well as the cooperation with allied disciplines.
Frölich
Jan
J
Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychiatrie des Kindes- und Jugendalters der Universität zu Köln. praxis-dr-froelich@t-online
Lehmkuhl
Gerd
G
Döpfner
Manfred
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018910:Video Games / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data