In the video game zone? Or maybe they're addicted?

An Iowa State researcher finds 3 million-plus kids ages 8 to 18 who play video games are "pathological gamers."

By DONNA ST. GEORGE, Washington Post

Last update: April 19, 2009 - 11:16 PM

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A new study concludes that children can become addicted to playing video games, with some skimping on homework, lying about how much they play and struggling, without success, when they try to cut back.

In what is described as the first nationally representative study in the United States on the subject, psychologist Douglas Gentile of Iowa State University found that 8.5 percent of American youths ages 8 to 18 who play video games -- that's more than 3 million -- show signs of behavioral addiction.

"For some kids, they play in such a way that it becomes out of balance. And they're damaging other areas of their lives," said Gentile, whose study was posted online today by the journal Psychological Science.

To get at gaming addiction, Gentile adapted diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling. The questions became part of a 2007 Harris Poll survey of 1,178 children and teens. Gamers were deemed "pathological" if they reported at least six of the 11 symptoms.

Symptoms included spending increasing amounts of time and money on video games to feel the same level of excitement; irritability or restlessness when play is scaled back; escaping problems through play; skipping chores or homework to play; lying about the length of playing time, and stealing games or money to play more.

Four times as many boys as girls were considered "pathological gamers." And those gamers did worse in school, had trouble paying attention in class and reported feeling "addicted," he said.

"It's not that the games are bad," said Gentile, who is also director of research at the nonprofit National Institute on Media and the Family. "... It's that some kids use them in a way that is out of balance and harms various other areas of their lives."

Other experts said that although they agree that too much video-gaming can take a toll, they are not convinced it can be an addiction.

"I think kids use this just the way kids watch television, the way kids now use their cell phones," said Michael Brody, chairman of the media committee of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. "They do it to relieve their anxiety and depression. It's all a matter of balance."