The link between violent video games and violent behavior is a source of debate for politicians, researchers and journalists. While some claim there is a connection between the behaviors, video gaming site Kotaku highlights a video interview with Harvard professors Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson, who claim otherwise.

Authors of Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games, Kutner and Olson state there is “absolutely no evidence” to support concerns about increased violence in these cases. They claim that really, boys who do not play videogames are at risk of showing aggression. They say video gaming may be a “marker of social confidence” among young boys and even a positive way for parents to interact with their children.

Their only qualification in the interview is that those who play exclusively violent games for at least 15 hours a week are at greater risk of getting in trouble at school — and even then, they say, few will. Lastly, they claim that there is no long-term research that says there are long-term effects on a child’s behavior.

Dr. Sung Joon Jang, a sociologist at Baylor University, disagrees. His study of similar cases about violence in movies and television shows that “playing violent video games on a regular basis is likely to increase . . . (tendencies) of aggression and violence among some individuals under certain circumstances.”

The issues are complex, and differences in gender and age can influence the effect. Some studies and researchers do show a small but statistically significant correlation between violent content and violent behavior. Another study finds that the literature has not proved that exposure to violent media causes violent behavior.