Exploring the Effects of Violent Video Games on Healthcare Trainees

Karlie A. Krause, Chelsie Smyth and Kate L. Jansen

Simulation & Gaming, 2020, vol. 51, issue 5, 653-665

Abstract: Background. The prevalence of video game play has continued to increase. Previous literature has suggested negative emotional consequences related to violent video game play, such as an increase in aggression and decrease in empathy . Healthcare providers require high levels of empathy to effectively work with patients. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of video games on empathy on a sample of graduate-level healthcare trainees . Methods. A sample of 81 students on a healthcare campus completed a 30-item survey assessing video game habits and empathy levels. Participants were then placed into two groups ( violent and non-violent) based on the amount of video game violence they are exposed to. Results. The results revealed no differences between healthcare trainees on overall empathy. A follow-up analysis examining individual subscales that comprise the overall empathy score, indicated the violent video game players had lower scores on the Personal Distress scale. Conclusion. Findings suggest that healthcare trainees who play violent video games do not experience decreased Empathic Concern or Perspective Taking , compared to individuals who do not play violent games. However, healthcare trainees who play violent video games indicated lower levels of Personal Distress . Given the intensity in healthcare settings, findings suggest violent video game play may be adaptive to healthcare trainees, as lower personal distress can lead to better decision-making and potentially prevent burnout . Further research is necessary to determine the role of video game play in healthcare professionals.

Keywords: video games; simulation/gaming; violence; healthcare trainees; empathy; personal distress; burnout (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1046878120932298 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:simgam:v:51:y:2020:i:5:p:653-665

DOI: 10.1177/1046878120932298

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Simulation & Gaming
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().