There's no definite cause of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but a list of suspects from the National Institute on Mental Health includes genes, brain injuries, and environmental factors like cigarette and alcohol use during pregnancy or lead exposure. Another environmental factor could be added to that list, as new research suggests a link between attention problems and playing video games.

　　But does the correlation rate change between players of WarioWare and players of Civilization? According to a study titled "Television and Video Game Exposure and the Development of Attention Problems," published in the August issue of Pediatrics, television and video game exposure showed small to moderate correlations with concurrent attention problems. According to the research, the link was the same whether the study participants played games or watched TV.

　　Researchers studied 1,323 children (males and females in the third, fourth, and fifth grades) during a period of 13 months. They determined attention problems by collecting parents' accounts of their child's video game and television habits and teacher surveys, asking if the children had attention problems and to what degree.

　　They also used one-time surveys from 210 college students (male and female) who submitted self-documented forms containing their television-viewing habits, video game exposure, and attention troubles. Researchers found that children who viewed more than two hours each day were more likely to eclipse average attention problem rates, with the older age contingency showing similar results.

　　The paper's main author, Edward Swing, told GameSpot more research was needed to establish whether there is a causal relationship between game playing and attention problems. He also expressed interest in determining whether the type of content consumed would impact the correlation to attention problems. For example, Swing wants to find out if slower paced, educational, and/or nonviolent games and TV shows might be less commonly tied to attention problems.

　　The research was coauthored by Craig A. Anderson and David A. Walsh, two familiar voices with a history of decrying deleterious effects of games. Anderson's previous research has linked violent video games to heightened aggression, and Walsh founded the National Institute on Media and the Family, the now-defunct mass media monitoring advocacy group.

　　The Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics is printed monthly in the United States and six other counties and also has an online version. It is a peer-reviewed journal that has been published since 1948.