Young boys with ADHD or autism are more likely to become addicted to video games than those of normal development, MedPage Today reported.

The new study, published in Pediatrics, surveyed boys ages eight to 18 with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Researchers found they often had more of an access to gaming systems in their own room and spent nearly twice as much time playing than boys with regular development.

The researchers said boys with ASD spent a daily average of 2.1 hours, while boys with ADHD spent 1.7 hours per day. Boys without development disorders spent an average of 1.2 hours per day playing video games.

The study, led by Micah Mazurek, PhD, of the University of Missouri, and Christopher Engelhardt, PhD, of the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, both in Columbia, suggested boys with inattentive symptoms were more likely to develop video game addiction.

"These results shed light into potential associated features of problematic game use and are consistent with previous studies linking impulsivity and inattention with problematic video game use," the authors wrote.

Boys with these conditions are more likely to struggle with impulse control and their response to inhibitions.

The researchers also surveyed 41 boys with typical development, in addition to 56 with autism and 44 with ADHD. On average, age of boys surveyed was 11.7 and they had two siblings. Most of the boys were white, had parents who were married with an annual income of at least $41,000.

Parents recorded and reported their children's daily video and computer game use outside of school. They also included estimates of daily use on weekends and weekdays and whether or not the child had a game console in his room. Parents also listed their boy's favorite three video games, which the researchers split into genres.

No genre was reported significantly more popular than another, but boys with no development disorder were found to play more shooting and sports games than boys with ADHD or ASD.

Boys with development disorders played more role-playing games and had higher levels of problematic gaming.