Parents of children with crippling television addictions may want to force other activities on their youngster's agenda. Researchers at the University of Glasgow in Scotland conducted a study to understand the connection between TV watching and antisocial behaviors in children.

The study, led by Dr. Alison Parkes, used a survey based analysis to determine what affect three hours of TV watching a day can do to a child's psychological temperament. The analysis also included their time spent playing electronics video games.

Parkes and her colleagues issued questionnaires to over 11,000 mothers of children who were born between 2000 and 2002. The parents answered one survey when their child turned five-years-old and a follow up survey when they turned seven-years-old.

The questions they were asked included any emotional problems, disciplinary troubles, relationships with peers, attention disorders or any other antisocial characteristics. Researchers adjusted information to include unrelated adolescent qualities, family dynamic and access to other forms of entertainment.

Out of the 11,000 participants almost two-thirds of the children watched TV for one to three hours a day, with 15 percent reporting more than three hours of viewing time, less than two percent watched no television at all and only three percent of children played video games more than three hours per day, BBC reported.

The study determined that five-years-olds who took in at least three hours of TV screening a day displayed signs of behavioral issues by the time they turned seven-years-old. Surprisingly, children who played electronic games showed no change in disciplinary conduct.

This study was published in the March 25 edition of Archives of Disease in Childhood.