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Racial/ethnic differences in video game and Internet use among US adolescents with mental health and educational difficulties.

Nicholas CarsonBenjamin Lê CookChih-Nan ChenMargarita Alegria
Published in: Journal of children and media (2012)
Video game and Internet use can be associated with poor mental health and educational outcomes among adolescents. Racial/ethnic minority youth use these media more than White youth. Video game and Internet use among adolescents with mental health and educational difficulties may therefore differ by race/ethnicity in clinically meaningful ways. We analyzed a representative sample of 8th grade students in the United States from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Kindergarten (N=6,700). Stratifying by gender, we assessed racial/ethnic differences in the associations between video game and Internet use, mental health, and reading and math achievement. Significant minority-White differences were identified in associations between media use and mental health and educational achievement. Video game use was relatively high among black females with prior mental health diagnoses and Asian-American males with high internalizing symptoms. Understanding video game and Internet use among racial/ethnic minority youth with mental health and educational difficulties may improve clinical practice.
Keyphrases
  • mental health
  • mental illness
  • health information
  • clinical practice
  • virtual reality
  • physical activity
  • cross sectional
  • type diabetes
  • healthcare
  • social media
  • sleep quality