Effects of an Internet Use Disorder and Internet Gaming Disorder Early Intervention Program

NCT ID: NCT03582839

Last Updated: 2018-07-11

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: UNKNOWN
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 54 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2016-04-14
• Study Completion Date: 2019-04-01

Brief Summary

Background. In the last two decades Internet usage has grown vastly. Pathological Internet usage (IUD; Internet Use Disorder) is associated with severe mental health problems affecting social, academic and daily life functioning. Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has been already included in the DSM-V. Recently, the WHO declared to include Gaming Disorder (GD) in the upcoming ICD-11. Despite the increasing rates of adolescents with IUD and (I)GD, affected people are treated unsystematically and there is a lack of evidence based treatment programs. PROTECT+ is a low-threshold, cognitive behavioral short-term group intervention.

Methods. 54 patients, aged 9-19 years, received PROTECT+ intervention in Heidelberg, Germany. The PROTECT+ intervention group underwent a cognitive-behavioral 4-session group therapy. Follow-up data were collected at 1, 4, and 12 months after admission. Primary outcome was the change in (I)GD and IUD related symptoms at the 12-months follow-up. Secondary outcomes were changes in comorbid symptoms as well as in problem solving, cognitive restructuring and emotion regulation skills

Discussion. Treatment of IUD and IGD is still in its early stages. Recent reviews report increasing research on treatment but also a lack of well-designed studies and evidence based treatment programs. The PROTECT+ intervention is a theory driven and evidence based therapy program which is based on the PROTECT preventive intervention in school settings. In the intervention group a reduction of (I)GD and IUD symptom severity is expected over 12 months.

Conditions

Mental Disorder

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

PROTECT+

The PROTECT+ intervention group is a self-selected sample, which receives the PROTECT+ group therapy (4 modules in 4 subsequent weeks à 100 min). Participants are assessed at T1 (baseline), T2 (post treatment, 1-month follow-up), T3 (4-months follow-up), and T4 (12-months follow-up).

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

PROTECT+

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The early intervention PROTECT+ consists of a cognitive-behavioral 4-session brief-protocol (100 minutes) and targets empirically identified risk factors of (I)GD/IUD, i.e. (1) boredom and motivational problems, (2) procrastination and performance anxiety, (3) social behavior and (4) emotion regulation. It addresses both risk-reduction and strength-promotion by cognitive behavioral (CB) interventions such as (1) psychoeducation, (2) cognitive restructuring (identification and modification of dysfunctional cognition), (3) behavior modification (improving problem solving skills, training of functional behavior and reinforcement) as well as (4) improving emotion regulation (training of sensory, imaginative and mindfulness based techniques).

Interventions

PROTECT+

The early intervention PROTECT+ consists of a cognitive-behavioral 4-session brief-protocol (100 minutes) and targets empirically identified risk factors of (I)GD/IUD, i.e. (1) boredom and motivational problems, (2) procrastination and performance anxiety, (3) social behavior and (4) emotion regulation. It addresses both risk-reduction and strength-promotion by cognitive behavioral (CB) interventions such as (1) psychoeducation, (2) cognitive restructuring (identification and modification of dysfunctional cognition), (3) behavior modification (improving problem solving skills, training of functional behavior and reinforcement) as well as (4) improving emotion regulation (training of sensory, imaginative and mindfulness based techniques).

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

Adolescents aged 9 to 19 years Self-selection

Exclusion Criteria

Severe comorbid mental health disorder

• Minimum Eligible Age: 9 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 19 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Heidelberg University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Pädagogische Hochschule Heidelberg

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Dr. Katajun Lindenberg

Jun.-Prof. Dr. K. Lindenberg

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Katajun Lindenberg, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Institut für Psychologie der Pädagogischen Hochschule Heidelberg

References

Szasz-Janocha C, Vonderlin E, Lindenberg K. Treatment outcomes of a CBT-based group intervention for adolescents with Internet use disorders. J Behav Addict. 2020 Nov 16;9(4):978-989. doi: 10.1556/2006.2020.00089.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 33216013 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

PH Heidelberg

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id