During the past decade, video games have become the main industrial entertainment sector, although research on the effects
of violence in video games on juvenile aggressiveness has raised concerns that they may pose a significant social risk. The
objective of this study was to analyze the relationship of exposure to violent video games, pathological video-gaming, and
justification of violence with the perpetration of Child-to-Parent Violence (CPV) against the mother and the father,
controlling for the sex, educational level, and violent TV exposure of the participant. The sample consisted of 439 students
from Compulsory Secondary Education, (238 boys and 201 girls), aged between 13 and 18. Exposure to video games was
assessed through an author-elaborated questionnaire, violence justification, and pathological video-gaming were evaluated
with the Exposure to Violence Questionnaire and the Assessment of Pathological Computer-Gaming, respectively, and CPV
was assessed through the Child-to-Parent Aggression Questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that
pathological video-gaming and, specially, justification of violence, were related to the perpetration of CPV against both
mothers and fathers. However, a relationship of exposure to violent video games and violence on TV with the perpetration of
CPV was not found. These results suggest a potential new target for CPV prevention, as well as for the treatment of juvenile
offenders.
