Violent Video Games and Rape Myth Acceptance for Male Latino High School Students

• In Event: 136 - Open Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 05. Technology, Gender and Interaction

Abstract

The video game series Grand Theft Auto (GTA) has drastically increased in popularity over the years. In addition, minors are much more likely to have access to the “mature rated” game and are consequently exposed to violent and sexual material at increasingly early ages. This study examines the effects of violent video games on male Latino high school students, specifically their rape myth acceptance. After taking a preliminary survey survey to measure their rape myth acceptance, Latino male sophomore students from a predominantly latino high school were randomly assigned to play either Animal Crossing or GTA. Investigators video recorded participants’ gameplay. Once finished playing, participants retook the rape-acceptance survey to measure if playing violent video games causes participants rape myth acceptance to increase. Some participants later played GTA in a group setting to examine if the group setting affects their gender-based game play or interaction. The group setting affected participants gender-based play. The results from the preliminary data set demonstrated that participants who played GTA had similar rape myth acceptance scores compared to those who played Animal Crossing. However, participants classified themselves as “gamers” had a significantly higher rape myth acceptance score (p< 0.10).

Authors

• Kevin Nunez

• Sebastian Paz, University of Illinois Chicago

• Phoenicia Nicole Fares, University of California, Riverside