News in Science

Gamers show Asperger's traits

People who spend hours and hours playing video games exhibit the same personality traits as people with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, researchers say.

The new UK research fuels concerns that video games could further alienate an already isolated group of people and increase mental health problems like depression.

In the study, Dr John Charlton of the University of Bolton and colleagues examined nearly 400 gamers, most of whom were male, and asked them about how much they played video games.

The researchers, who presented their findings at the recent British Psychological Society's annual conference in Dublin, didn't specifically study people with Asperger's.

The more time a person spent playing video games, the researchers found, the more likely they were to show three specific traits usually associated with Asperger's: neuroticism and a lack of extraversion and agreeableness.

Charlton suggests that people with Asperger's may be more vulnerable to becoming addicted to playing video games because it allows them to escape into a world where they can avoid face-to-face interactions.

"Our suggestion is that people with Asperger's might be prone to addiction to MMORPGs [massive multi-player online role playing games]," says Charlton.

"It is definitely not true to say that playing games can cause Asperger's syndrome."

Social situations stressful

People with Asperger's typically find social situations stressful. They often can't make eye contact and fail to pick up social cues, like boredom, in other people.

The condition tends to isolate children and can trigger depression, which according to researchers, video games may encourage.

The exact cause of Asperger's is unknown, although researchers suspect there is a genetic component.

Treatment for Asperger's usually consists of improving social skills and breaking repetitive behaviour, the very things video games discourage.

Concern

Dr Eileen Costello, a US paediatrician and author of the book Quirky Kids about children with disorders like autism and Asperger's, is concerned.

"I worry about the mental health of these kids," she says about children who spend many hours playing video games.

"Video games don't prepare them for interacting with real people," she says. "You can't walk into a college interview and say that you are really good at playing Xbox."