Back in high school, I’d spend hours on end in front of my computer playing Tetris. There was one weekend in particular I didn’t leave my bedroom—it was like I was under some sort of trance and I couldn’t break away from the computer screen.

According to a new study by an Iowa State University psychology professor, one in 10 kids is not only stuck in a video-game induced trance, but is addicted to gaming. Assistant Professor of Psychology Douglas Gentile found that in one in 10 gamers between the ages of 8 and 18 are pathological players, meaning their habits may cause family, social, school, or psychological damage, based on standards established for pathological gambling.

Gamers were classified as "pathological" if they exhibited at least six of 11 symptoms including skipping household chores and homework to play video games, playing video games to escape problems, and performing poorly in school. A small percentage even reported stealing video games or stealing money to buy games.

The study also found that pathological gamers were twice as likely to have been diagnosed with attention problems such as attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). (See Does my child need high-tech toys?)

Read the rest of this post on our Health blog.