Computer games have turned into a pastime for children and adolescents. The present research involves a report of the effect of these games on salivary cortisol as a stress hormone in male adolescents. The subjects included 50 male adolescents with an age range of 17-19 who were exposed to 30 minutes of either violent or non-violent computer games. Four saliva samples were taken including: before the game (T1), 15 minutes into the game (T2), immediately after the game (T3), and 20 minutes after the game (t4). The results of multivariate analysis of variance revealed that violent video games have led to a significant increase in the level of salivary cortisol while playing and that this level remained constant after the game, but non-violent video games did not increase the level of cortisol secretion in subjects ( ).
