The good news, according to researchers from the University of Toledo, is that as far as children's preferences for and attitudes toward violent video games are concerned, gender stereotypes are beginning to disappear. The bad news is that girls are becoming more like boys, rather than the other way around.

The researchers conducted a survey of 364 fourth- and fifth- grade students (203 females, 161 males) in a midwestern suburban school district in which they were asked about their preferences for video games and their agreement (or disagreement) with gender- stereotyped attitudes toward violent video games.

While boys were more likely than girls to agree that "most boys prefer the fighting games" or "the fighting games are mainly for boys," the gender differences in agreement or disagreement with the statements "most kids don't think girls should play the fighting games" and "girls should play the fighting games" were much narrower, suggesting that "to some extent, both boys and girls view 'fighting games' as acceptable activities for any individual."

Those who have sought solutions to the problem of youth violence have suggested that boys need to be taught to use compromise and conciliation or "female" conflict-resolution strategies. Instead, the authors note, "through playing violent games, girls may become more likely to adopt ruthlessly competitive 'male' tactics in everyday interactions."

5/30/98

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