Comparing the Social Skills of Students Addicted to Computer Games with Normal Students

BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate and compare the social skills of studentsaddicted to computer games with normal students. The dependentvariable in the present study is the social skills. METHODS The study population included all the students in the second grade ofpublic secondary school in the city of Isfahan at the educational year of2009-2010. The sample size included 564 students selected using thecluster random sampling method. Data collection was conducted usingQuestionnaire of Addiction to Computer Games and Social SkillsQuestionnaire (The Teenage Inventory of Social Skill or TISS). FINDINGS The results of the study showed that generally, there was a significantdifference between the social skills of students addicted to computer gamesand normal students. In addition, the results indicated that normal studentshad a higher level of social skills in comparison with students addicted tocomputer games. CONCLUSION As the study results showed, addiction to computer games may affectthe quality and quantity of social skills. In other words, the higher theaddiction to computer games, the less the social skills. The individualsaddicted to computer games have less social skills.).