Effects of Temporary Abstinence and Expressive Writing on Gaming
NCT ID: NCT07068035
Last Updated: 2025-07-16
Study Results
The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.
Basic Information
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COMPLETED
NA
321 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2024-08-02
2024-11-11
Brief Summary
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\- Does intervention combining temporary abstinence and expressive writing reduces problematic gaming and gaming time?
Researchers will compare the treatment group to a control group (gaming as per usual and control writing) to examine if the intervention works to mitigate gaming problems.
Participants will:
* Temporarily abstain from video games for a period of 7 days and engage in 4 expressive writing exercises during this intervention period
* Answer three surveys: a baseline survey before the start of the intervention, a post survey after the 7-day intervention, and a follow-up survey 1 month after the post survey.
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Detailed Description
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Participants have to attend an online briefing, complete a baseline survey, take part in a 7-day intervention, complete a post-intervention survey one day later and a 1-month follow-up survey.
1. Online briefing: Participants attended an online briefing session where a member of the research team briefed them on the procedures, emphasised the importance of adhering to the intervention protocol, and addressed any questions that they might have.
2. Baseline survey: Participants were asked to report on their sociodemographics and internet and gaming-related habits, as well as psychosocial characteristics. The baseline survey had to be completed on the same day as the online briefing.
3. Intervention: Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups and to take part in the intervention that lasted for 7 consecutive days. In the treatment group, participants were instructed to abstain from gaming for a period of 7 days and to engage in expressive writing exercises for 15 minutes every other day for a total of 4 sessions on Day 1, Day 3, Day 5, and Day 7 of the intervention. Participants typed their writings online using the Qualtrics platform. In the control group, participants were instructed to continue with their usual gaming routine and engaged in control writing exercises for the same number of sessions and duration across the same days.
4. Post-intervention survey: Participants were asked to complete a subset of the baseline survey and a few questions about the intervention (e.g., manipulation checks, compliance).
5. 1-month follow-up survey: Participants were asked to complete a similar set of questionnaires as the baseline survey 1 month after the completion of the post-intervention survey.
Conditions
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Study Design
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RANDOMIZED
PARALLEL
Participants in the control group were instructed to continue their usual gaming routine for a period of 7 days and to engage in control writing exercises for 15 minutes every other day for a total of 4 sessions.
TREATMENT
DOUBLE
Study Groups
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Treatment
The treatment group was instructed to abstain from gaming for a period of 7 days and to engage in expressive writing exercises for 15 minutes every other day for a total of 4 sessions
Temporary abstinence and expressive writing
This brief, self-administered intervention combined both temporary gaming abstinence and gaming-focused expressive writing to mitigate gaming problems
Control
The control group was instructed to continue their usual gaming routine for a period of 7 days and to engage in control writing exercises for 15 minutes every other day for a total of 4 sessions.
Gaming as per usual and control writing
Participants continued with their usual gaming routine and engaged in control writing exercises for 15 minutes every other day for a total of 4 sessions
Interventions
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Temporary abstinence and expressive writing
This brief, self-administered intervention combined both temporary gaming abstinence and gaming-focused expressive writing to mitigate gaming problems
Gaming as per usual and control writing
Participants continued with their usual gaming routine and engaged in control writing exercises for 15 minutes every other day for a total of 4 sessions
Other Intervention Names
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
* Between 18 and 35 years old
* Play video games regularly (on average at least 7 hours per week)
* Able to read and write English
* Non-professional gamers
* Experience some problems with gaming, use gaming for emotional comfort
* Willing to temporarily take a break from gaming for 7 days
Exclusion Criteria
* Below 18 or above 35 years old
* Do not play video games regularly (less than 7 hours per week)
* Unable to read or write English
* Professional gamers
* Experience no problems with gaming, does not use gaming for emotional comfort
* Unwilling to temporarily take a break from gaming for 7 days
18 Years
35 Years
ALL
Yes
Sponsors
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National University of Singapore
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Hong Yee Shiun
Associate Professor
Locations
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Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore
Singapore, , Singapore
Countries
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Provided Documents
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Document Type: Informed Consent Form
Other Identifiers
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NUS-IRB-2023-1037
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id
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