Violent video games may be directly responsible for aggressive behaviour among teenagers, according to research from Middlesex University Monday.
The study research promises to re-ignite a controversial debate over the relationship between computer games and real violence.
Previous research has shown a correlation between violent computer games and adolescent aggression but the new research, published by Middlesex University lecturer in social psychology John Colwell, indicates that aggression may stem from playing computer games.
Colwell based his research on the behaviour of 204 pupils aged between 12 and 14 at a London school. He discovered that the longer children played violent computer games the more aggressive their behaviour became.
"There is a growing body of evidence to suggest there is a link between playing games and aggression," Colwell told the Sunday Times.
Another recent study by the American Journal of Personality and Social Psychology similarly concludes that computer games may be responsible for actual violence.
Some researchers, however, question this link arguing that computer games have become a scapegoat for wider social problems.
