Treatment outcomes of a CBT-based group intervention for adolescents with internet use disorders
- 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).
Author: | Carolin Szász-Janocha, Eva Vonderlin, Katajun LindenbergORCiDGND |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-623617 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2020.00089 |
ISSN: | 2063-5303 |
Parent Title (English): | Journal of behavioral addictions |
Publisher: | Akadémiai Kiadó |
Place of publication: | Budapest |
Document Type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of Publication (online): | 2020/11/16 |
Date of first Publication: | 2021/01/15 |
Publishing Institution: | Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg |
Release Date: | 2021/08/03 |
Tag: | Internet gaming disorder; Internet use disorders; adolescents; cognitive behavioral therapy; early intervention; treatment |
Volume: | 9 |
Issue: | 4 |
Page Number: | 12 |
First Page: | 978 |
Last Page: | 989 |
HeBIS-PPN: | 48923111X |
Institutes: | Psychologie und Sportwissenschaften / Psychologie |
Dewey Decimal Classification: | 1 Philosophie und Psychologie / 15 Psychologie / 150 Psychologie |
6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit | |
Sammlungen: | Universitätspublikationen |
Open-Access-Publikationsfonds: | Psychologie und Sportwissenschaften |
Licence (English): | Creative Commons - Namensnennung-Nicht kommerziell 4.0 |