Department of Psychiatry

Bader Chaarani, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry

(SEPTEMBER 4, 2024) Bader Chaarani, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry, was quoted in a Tulalip News story about the community benefits of connecting kids and cops through video games.

“Many parents today are concerned about the effects of video games on their children’s health and development,” said Chaarani, whose research focuses on the impact of screen time on adolescent mental health and brain development. “And as these games continue to proliferate among young people, it is crucial that we better understand the positive impact that such games may have.”

A prime example of this connectivity and community building playing out in real time with real people was at the Second Annual e-Gaming Tournament, where 32 teams representing all 12 Boys & Girls Clubs of Snohomish County and 12 local law enforcement agencies teamed up for an epic day of e-gaming with the arcade-style soccer game Rocket League.

Twenty-two-year-old Lynnwood police cadet Cade Moren reflected on the day’s legendary potential. “The most exciting aspect of this tournament is it really shows how much video games can cultivate such a positive experience with law enforcement. Events like these really show that collaborating with local police departments is such a worthwhile investment. How many seeds are being planted here that will grow into fantastic relationships in the future? Relationships that can only improve our shared communities and possibly have life-altering benefits, such as kids who may go on to pursue a career in law enforcement because of this experience, or a cop who views a community differently because of a super-cool interaction they had playing a video game with a kid who reminded them of their younger self.”

The collaborative nature of video games, such as Rocket League, brought together a super-diverse field of competitors. Kids and cops from different cities, neighborhoods, and ethnic backgrounds learned to communicate effectively, resolve conflicts, and work together to achieve their objectives. Interactions like these, as witnessed over and over again during the tournament, greatly promote a sense of empathy and understanding for others, especially as it relates to youth and the law enforcement officers sworn to protect them.

(The Tulalip News, based in Tulalip, Washington, is the weekly newspaper of the Tulalip Tribes, successors in interest to the Snohomish, Snoqualmie, and Skykomish and other tribes and bands signatory to the Treaty of Point Elliot, January 22, 1855.)