Parental video game attitudes : children's access to restricted vido games

Abstract

This study explores the issue of parent’s attitudes towards children’s access to restricted video game content. The research consisted of six participants, two male and four female parents with children under 18. They each completed a self reporting parental style questionnaire followed by an in depth interview. The data was then transcribed and analysed using discourse analysis. Results showed that irrelevant of the parenting style there was a general finding that the children were allowed access to age restricted content. This is consistent with research regarding parents being complicit in providing the restricted content and that age restrictions may not be an effective barrier. Author keywords: Video games, parental attitudes