New research conducted by Dr. Sonya Brady at the University of California, San Francisco and Professor Karen Matthews at the University of Pittsburgh, recently published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine (April 2006), suggests that violent video games can be gateway drugs of sorts in that they can lead to "permissive attitudes toward violence, alcohol use, marijuana use, and sexual activity without condom use."

The study used 100 male participants (undergraduate students) between the ages of 18 and 21 "to test the effects of media violence exposure on blood pressure, negative affect, hostile social information processing, uncooperative behavior, and attitudes toward health risk behaviors among young men varying in lifetime violence exposure within the home and community."

The men were randomly assigned to play VU Games' The Simpsons: Hit and Run (categorized as low-violence condition) or Take-Two's Grand Theft Auto III (categorized as high-violence condition). Much to the chagrin of Take-Two and much to the delight of anti-game activists and certain politicians, the more violent game, GTA, elicited greater negative effects in the participants.

"Men randomly assigned to play Grand Theft Auto III exhibited greater increases in diastolic blood pressure from a baseline rest period to game play, greater negative affect, more permissive attitudes toward using alcohol and marijuana, and more uncooperative behavior in comparison with men randomly assigned to play The Simpsons," reads the study.

However, "Only among participants with greater exposure to home and community violence, play of Grand Theft Auto III led to elevated systolic blood pressure in comparison with play of The Simpsons."

The study concludes, "Media violence exposure may play a role in the development of negative attitudes and behaviors related to health. Although youth growing up in violent homes and communities may become more physiologically aroused by media violence exposure, all youth appear to be at risk for potentially negative outcomes."

"Parents have been told the message that violent video games and violent media in general can influence the likelihood that their kids will be aggressive," Dr. Sonya S. Brady commented to Reuters Health. "What this study suggests is that they might increase any type of risk-taking behavior."