ESA Disputes Game Addiction Study

28 Apr 2009 at 12:07:41 by

A study that found 8.5 percent of American gamers aged 8-18 are addicted to videogames has come under fire from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA).

President and CEO of ESA, Michael Gallagher, said the findings, which were carried out by Iowa State University, were "based on flawed methodology."

Gallagher further criticised the study, carried out by Dr. Douglas Gentile, claiming the subjects of the study were not randomly chosen from the cross-section of gamers, but rather were a "convenience" sample who had agreed to participate.

"As you are likely aware, such a sample is not truly representative of a national population group. Thus the results cannot be projected onto the broader population of children in this country. And the sampling error of plus or minus 3% that Dr. Gentile cited in the study is also meaningless."

"This raises serious doubts about the validity of findings."

When speaking to our very own Dr. Guy Cumberbatch - chartered psychologist and key witness in the Manhunt 2 trials - on whether gamers can be addicted to videogames, Cumberbatch said "[A]ddiction, as clinically defined by psychologists, is very rare with videogames. Even so most people say they are ‘addictive' especially in describing that compulsion to get to the next level."

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