TY  - JOUR
A1  - Szász-Janocha, Carolin
A1  - Vonderlin, Eva
A1  - Lindenberg, Katajun
T1  - Treatment outcomes of a CBT-based group intervention for adolescents with internet use disorders
T2  - Journal of behavioral addictions
N2  - Background and aims: Instances of Internet use disorders (IUD) including Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and non-gaming pathological Internet use (ng-PIU) have the extent that they are now a growing mental health issue. Individuals suffering from IUD show a large range of symptoms, high comorbidities and impairments in different areas of life. To date there is a lack of efficient and evidence-based treatment programs for such adolescents. The present registered single-arm trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03582839) aimed to investigate the long-term effects of a brief manualized cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program for adolescents with IUD. Methods: N = 54 patients (16.7% female), aged 9–19 years (M = 13.48, SD = 1.72) received the CBT group program PROTECT+. IUD symptom severity (primary outcome variable) as well as comorbid symptoms, risk-related variables and potentially protective skills (secondary outcome variables) were assessed at pretest, posttest, as well as 4 and 12 months after admission. Results: Patients showed a significant reduction in IUD symptom severity at the 12-month follow-up. Effect sizes were medium to large depending on the measure. Beyond the statistical significance, the clinical significance was confirmed using the reliable change index. Secondary outcome variables showed a significant reduction in self-reported depression, social anxiety, performance anxiety and school anxiety as well as in parental-reported general psychopathology. Discussion and conclusions: The present study shows long-term effects of a manual-based CBT treatment for adolescents suffering from IUD. The results indicate that even a 4-session brief intervention can achieve a medium to large effect over 12 months. Future work is needed to confirm the efficacy within a randomized controlled trial (RCT).
KW  - Internet use disorders
KW  - Internet gaming disorder
KW  - treatment
KW  - early intervention
KW  - cognitive behavioral therapy
KW  - adolescents
Y1  - 2021
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/62361
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-623617
SN  - 2063-5303
VL  - 9
IS  - 4
SP  - 978
EP  - 989
PB  - Akadémiai Kiadó
CY  - Budapest
ER  -