Studies of the therapeutical and beneficial effects that COD (Call of Duty) have on soldiers

      Many people believe that video games were invented for the pure sake of entertainment purposes, but there is far more than just having fun. In fact (as mentioned in my previous blog post), there have been studies conducted by experts to prove that playing video games are in fact beneficial and can even bring about therapeutic effects to soldiers. One of the many FPS (first person shooting) games available out there, Call of Duty has been used to aid and treat any lingering effects of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) that soldiers may have suffered from combat. Almost all soldiers returning from war are bound to suffer from some form of PTSD, which can ultimately range from being minor to severe.  

       In an online survey carried out by Jayne Gackenbach of Edmonton of Grant McEwan University located in Edmonton, Canada, out of a group of 98 military personnel who claimed to play video games involving war and combat like Call of Duty claimed that it helped decrease harm and aggression that they feel when they are dreaming about war. Those surveyed who did not play were subject to more violent dreams and combined with feelings of helplessness. To ensure that her study only consisted of healthy and mentally stable soldiers, Jayne made sure that each individual was free from any pre-diagnosed mental disorders such as PTSD. The soldiers were divided into two groups: high gaming and low gaming which were based on how often they played video games. The high gaming group played video games much more frequently ranging from every day to several times a week and played more immersive games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Red Dead Redemption. On the other hand, the low gaming group played games as little as a few times a year and they consisted of casual type games.
       Jayne concluded from her study that those that were involved in the high gaming group reported much less intense nightmares, and that many of the people in group were able to fight back whatever was attacking them in their dreams. Those that were in the low gaming group experienced more feelings of helplessness against their enemies. Thus, Gackenbach's theory based from the preliminary data that she collected concluded that violent video games may serve as a form of "threat simulator," a way of manipulating the mind to cope with the intense situations in nightmares. In fact, Gackenbach was able to receive personal feedback from a soldier who participated in the study and the soldier said: "I would see many soldiers, in combat, with PSPs or anything we could hook up to the 220v electricity. When soldiers weren't on patrol, we often had violent war games on our systems. It was weird. Like we didn't get enough violence." In other words, soldiers would play video games in between combat as a way to counter the violence that they had to experience. 

Sources:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-09-13/-call-of-duty-video-game-trains-brains-for-fast-accurate-decision-making

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-03-08-can-cod-help-soldiers-deal-with-trauma

http://www.gamepolitics.com/2011/03/11/study-video-games-may-help-soldiers-fight-combat-related-nightmares#.VNoog2TF8i4