Background and Objectives: Computer games, as a social phenomenon in today's world, have attracted a surprising amount of attention from children and adolescents in recent years due to the significant growth of communication technologies. Therefore, the overall aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of computer games on the mental health of female second-grade elementary school students in Behshahr city.
Methodology: This research is applied in terms of purpose and is a quasi-experimental research with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group in terms of method. Its statistical population consists of all 479 female students in the second grade of elementary school in Behshahr city. Due to the quasi-experimental nature of the research, 40 people (20 in the experimental group and 20 in the control group) were selected as samples using cluster random sampling. The Goldberg Mental Health Questionnaire with 28 questions was used to collect data. The face and content validity of the instrument was approved by experts, and its reliability was calculated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.95. Univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) tests were used to analyze the data.
Results: Computer games have a significant impact on the mental health of second-grade female elementary school students in Behshahr city. Computer games have also increased physical symptoms, anxiety, impaired social functioning, and depression in second-grade female elementary school students in Behshahr.
Conclusion: omputer games have been shown to reduce students' mental health. Therefore, parents, teachers, and educational officials need to help maintain students' mental health by monitoring their gaming behaviors and creating a balance between online and offline activities.