Playing Action Video Games May Increase Capability for a Suicide Attempt - Neuroscience News 07/10/17 09:00

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Playing Action Video Games May Increase

Capability for a Suicide Attempt
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A new study by Texas Tech researchers examines the

acquired capability for suicide.

Among individuals already thinking about suicide, those

who play action video games may be signicantly more
capable of attempting it than those who play other video
game categories, according to a new study from Texas Tech
University.

Researchers in the Department of Psychological Sciences

examined the relationship between video game play and
the acquired capability for suicide, with the moderating
eects of video game category and gender. The team
published its ndings in a recent issue of the peer-reviewed journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social
Networking.

The research was based on the interpersonal theory of suicide by psychologist Thomas Joiner, which says a person
can develop a capability for suicide through exposure to physically painful or psychologically provocative events.

What we know from previous research is that not everyone who thinks about suicide goes on to attempt or die by
suicide, said the studys lead author, Sean Mitchell, a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology. What the
interpersonal theory of suicide brought in was the acquired capability for suicide, which is meant to dierentiate

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who may think about suicide but never attempt versus someone who thinks about suicide and does go on to
attempt.

Acquired capability is an increased fearlessness about death, not being as afraid to die, and also an increased pain
tolerance not being as sensitive to pain. Increased acquired capability allows individuals to overcome the fear and
pain that would inhibit a suicide attempt.

An important caveat to the research is its only applicable to people already thinking about suicide, what
researchers call suicide ideation.

The research also doesnt give a clear picture as to whether violent video games cause an increased acquired
capability for suicide.

We didnt assess change over time, Mitchell said. Some studies say people play violent video games, which
causes them to be more aggressive. Other studies say theres no association. Other studies say the opposite:
people who are already more violent seek out violent video games. We see ndings that show all of it, so theres
not a clear picture. Without doing intensive study over a long period of time, we cant really say what causes what.

The study included data from 228 students at Texas Tech who reported playing video games weekly, largely male
(65.5 percent) and Caucasian (74.1 percent).

Participants were asked to report what categories of video games they played:

Action games: First-person shooter, horror, ghting, sports or crime/war games, such as Call of Duty, the
HALO series, Left for Dead, Resident Evil, Streetghter, Mortal Kombat, Tomb Raider and Grand Theft
Auto
Adventure games: Role-playing, multiplayer online or adventure games, such as The Sims and World of
Warcraft
Simulation games: Wii, PlayStation Move, vehicle simulation, sports, racing or music games, such as Guitar
Hero
Educational/traditional games: Puzzles, educational or traditional games, such as Solitaire, Chess,
Minesweeper or Tetris

The more hours of video games you play, the higher your acquired capability tended to be, Mitchell said. But if
we took into consideration what kinds of video games youre playing, we saw that if you play action games, which
tend to be more violent, there is a stronger relationship between hours of video game play and acquired capability.
However, if you dont play action games, there was no relationship. So, hours of video game play is associated with
increased acquired capability only when they report playing action games.

(http://neurosciencenews.com/action-video-games-suicide-3940/violent-video-games-suicide/)
The research also doesnt give a clear picture as to whether violent video games cause an increased acquired
capability for suicide. Image is adapted from the Texas Tech press release.

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However, because action games arent the only types of games that contain violence, the reality may be more
denitive than the studys results.

Violence could show up in adventure games as well, so by us having it be just action games, its probably a slightly
more conservative estimate of that association than if we said violent video games, Mitchell said. If we had the
question rephrased that way, we might have seen a stronger relationship.

ABOUT THIS PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH

In addition to Mitchell, the studys other authors are Danielle Jahn, an assistant professor at the University of
Marylands School of Medicine who earned her masters and doctorate at Texas Tech; Evan Guidry, a clinical
psychology doctoral candidate in the Texas Tech Department of Psychological Sciences; and Kelly Cukrowicz, an
associate professor of clinical psychology, chair of the institutional review board and director of Texas Techs
Suicide and Depression Research Program.

Source: Glenys Young Texas Tech (http://today.ttu.edu/)

Image Source: The image is in the public domain.
Original Research: Abstract (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cyber.2015.0171) for The Relationship
Between Video Game Play and the Acquired Capability for Suicide: An Examination of Dierences by Category of
Video Game and Gender by Mitchell Sean M., Jahn Danielle R., Guidry Evan T., and Cukrowicz Kelly C in
Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. Published online December 2015 doi:10.1089/cyber.2015.0171

Abstract

The Relationship Between Video Game Play and the Acquired Capability for Suicide: An Examination of
Dierences by Category of Video Game and Gender

This study examined the relationship between video game (VG) play and the acquired capability for suicide (ACS),
as well as the moderating eects of VG category and gender on this relationship. Participants were 228 college
students who played VGs on a weekly basis and who completed self-report assessments of VG play, painful and
provocative events, and the ACS. Results indicated that there was a signicant positive association between hours
of VG play and the ACS. The action category of VGs was a signicant moderator of the relationship between hours
of VG play and the ACS after adjusting for previous painful and provocative events. Gender did not signicantly
moderate the relationship between hours of VG play and the ACS, and there was no signicant three-way
interaction between hours of VG play, playing action category VGs, and gender. This suggests that individuals who
play many hours of action VGs may be more capable of lethal self-harm if they experience suicide ideation,
although this association does not exist for individuals who play other categories of VGs.

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The Relationship Between Video Game Play and the Acquired Capability for Suicide: An Examination of Dierences
by Category of Video Game and Gender by Mitchell Sean M., Jahn Danielle R., Guidry Evan T., and Cukrowicz Kelly
C in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. Published online December 2015
doi:10.1089/cyber.2015.0171

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ONE RESPONSE

March 31, 2016 (http://neurosciencenews.com/action-video-games-suicide-3940/#comment-16346)

medicinehorse179 (http://gravatar.com/medicinehorse179)

Acquired capability is an increased fearlessness about death, not being as afraid to die, and also an increased pain
tolerance not being as sensitive to pain. Increased acquired capability allows individuals to overcome the fear and
pain that would inhibit a suicide attempt...or so says the above studys lead author, Sean Mitchell. These kinds of
pseudoscience studies demand the harshest, most personal criticism. Generally, capability is assumed by the
100s of millions, or even billion+, Modern English speakers to imply a capacity to engage in an action or behavior.
But, fearlessness, or fearfulness, or even simply fear, is considered by ME speakers to be an emotion, or a
mental state of mind. Mitchell is thus conating a feeling with a (possible) future action. Thats absurd, illogical, and
irrational. So acquire capability means to attain more skill. Theres no emotional component to skill acquisition. Is
Mitchell going to thus claim that my Buddhist studies, which have lead me to largely accept the fact that I will die
someday in the future, also made me more suicidal? Isnt that the logical, rational result of Mitchells claims? Do I
need to continue with the very nebulous concept of pain tolerance? How about a study on the GermanWings pilot
who murdered over 100 people in a psychiatric-drug fueled suicide-by-commercial airliner?
Honestly, people, your irrational and illogical psychobabble, or Psycho Babel, is truly amusing!

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