Adolescent videogaming, cognitive development and interactions with gender in the SCAMP cohort
- 1Imperial College London
Abstract
BackgroundThere is evidence that non-problematic videogaming, particularly action and first-person shooter gaming, is associated with enhanced cognition in some areas such as attention and spatial cognition. However, many studies to date have been cross-sectional, making it difficult to determine how videogaming influences cognitive development during adolescence.
ObjectivesTo investigate whether videogaming habits in early adolescence, including gaming genre, are associated with cognitive development in the prospective Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones (SCAMP).
MethodsData on videogaming habits, demographics and cognitive abilities (executive functioning, visual attention, mental rotation and sustained attention) was collected at two timepoints, when participants were age 11-12 (baseline, N= 6590) and 13-15 (follow-up, N= 4976). Multi-level linear regression, adjusted for demographics and baseline cognition, was used to evaluate whether baseline videogaming (hours per week and specific genres) predicted cognitive abilities cross-sectionally and at follow-up. Interaction terms and stratified analyses were used to examine potential gender differences.
ResultsOverall videogaming duration at baseline was not associated with subsequent cognitive development, however playing some specific genres was associated with improved mental rotation (first-person shooter and strategy games) and sustained and visual attention (platform games), and some genres (first-person shooter and roleplayer games) were associated with worse sustained attention. Further, effects were modified by gender, with stratified analyses suggesting detrimental effects of overall gaming on sustained attention in boys, and improvements in visual attention in girls.
ConclusionsOverall videogaming duration was not consistently associated with cognitive development during early adolescence. However, associations varied according to participant gender and gaming genre, supporting the hypothesis that videogaming should not be considered a homogeneous activity. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between specific gaming experiences and broader screen-time exposure when evaluating potential impacts on adolescent cognitive development and informing public health recommendations.
Related
- Frontostriatal interactions and socioenvironmental associations with alcohol and cannabis onset in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study
- Neuroimaging Correlates of Adolescent Substance Use: A Systematic Review of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study
- Predicting inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity trajectories using random forest classification in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study
- Longitudinal patterns of digital parenting restrictions and adolescent screen use: Insights from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study
- Prevalence and associated factors of selected adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes and gender-based violence among adolescent girls and young women in Ethiopia: an umbrella review
BibTeX
@misc{thompson2026adolescent,
title = {{Adolescent videogaming, cognitive development and interactions with gender in the SCAMP cohort}},
author = {R. Thompson and J. Heller and N. Curtis and S. Larsen and C. Shen and R. B. Smith and M. S. C. Thomas and I. Dumontheil and M. B. Toledano},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.15.26363113},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.15.26363113v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Adolescent videogaming, cognitive development and interactions with gender in the SCAMP cohort
AU - R. Thompson
AU - J. Heller
AU - N. Curtis
AU - S. Larsen
AU - C. Shen
AU - R. B. Smith
AU - M. S. C. Thomas
AU - I. Dumontheil
AU - M. B. Toledano
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/15
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.15.26363113
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.15.26363113v1
AB - BackgroundThere is evidence that non-problematic videogaming, particularly action and first-person shooter gaming, is associated with enhanced cognition in some areas such as attention and spatial cognition. However, many studies to date have been cross-sectional, making it difficult to determine how videogaming influences cognitive development during adolescence. ObjectivesTo investigate whether videogaming habits in early adolescence, including gaming genre, are associated with cognitive development in the prospective Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones (SCAMP). MethodsData on videogaming habits, demographics and cognitive abilities (executive functioning, visual attention, mental rotation and sustained attention) was collected at two timepoints, when participants were age 11-12 (baseline, N= 6590) and 13-15 (follow-up, N= 4976). Multi-level linear regression, adjusted for demographics and baseline cognition, was used to evaluate whether baseline videogaming (hours per week and specific genres) predicted cognitive abilities cross-sectionally and at follow-up. Interaction terms and stratified analyses were used to examine potential gender differences. ResultsOverall videogaming duration at baseline was not associated with subsequent cognitive development, however playing some specific genres was associated with improved mental rotation (first-person shooter and strategy games) and sustained and visual attention (platform games), and some genres (first-person shooter and roleplayer games) were associated with worse sustained attention. Further, effects were modified by gender, with stratified analyses suggesting detrimental effects of overall gaming on sustained attention in boys, and improvements in visual attention in girls. ConclusionsOverall videogaming duration was not consistently associated with cognitive development during early adolescence. However, associations varied according to participant gender and gaming genre, supporting the hypothesis that videogaming should not be considered a homogeneous activity. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between specific gaming experiences and broader screen-time exposure when evaluating potential impacts on adolescent cognitive development and informing public health recommendations.
ER -