Treatment efficacy of a specialized psychotherapy program for Internet Gaming Disorder

Abstract

Background and aimsInternet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has become health concern around the world, and specialized health services for the treatment of IGD are emerging. Despite the increase in such services, few studies have examined the efficacy of psychological treatments for IGD. The primary aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a specialized psychotherapy program for adolescents with IGD [i.e., the “Programa Individualizado Psicoterapéutico para la Adicción a las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación” (PIPATIC) program].MethodsThe sample comprised 31 adolescents (aged 12–18 years) from two public mental health centers who were assigned to either the (a) PIPATIC intervention experimental group or (b) standard cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) control group. The interventions were assessed at pre-, middle-, and post-treatment phases, as well as a 3-month assessment was carried out after completing the interventions.ResultsNo significant differences between either group in the pre-treatment phase were found. Relating to the different interventions examined, significant differences were found at pre-test and post-test on the following variables: comorbid disorders, intrapersonal and interpersonal abilities, family relationships, and therapists’ measures. Both groups experienced a significant reduction of IGD symptoms, although the PIPATIC group experienced higher significant improvements in the remainder of the variables examined.Discussion and conclusionsThe findings suggest that PIPATIC program is effective in the treatment of IGD and its comorbid disorders/symptoms, alongside the improvement of intra- and interpersonal abilities and family relationships. However, it should also be noted that standard CBT was also effective in the treatment of IGD. Changing the focus of treatment and applying an integrative focus (including the addiction, the comorbid symptoms, intra- and interpersonal abilities, and family psychotherapy) appear to be more effective in facilitating adolescent behavior change than CBT focusing only on the IGD itself.

Efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy for internet gaming disorder

“…The CBT programme in the current study was responsible for improvement in 17% more patients with IGD than was supportive therapy. There have been several studies of CBT for IGD that supported our results (Torres‐Rodríguez, Griffiths, Carbonell, & Oberst, ; Wölfling et al, ). Torres‐Rodriguez et al (2018) suggested that CBT for IGD was effective for improvement of IGD.…”

Spanish Validation of the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short Form (IGDS9-SF): Prevalence and Relationship with Online Gambling and Quality of Life

“…In terms of comorbidity, IGD has been associated with a wide spectrum of psychological problems including depression, anxiety, social phobias, poorer school performance, and sleep disorders [36,[39][40][41][42]. In addition, studies have begun to appear comprising clinical samples demanding psychological treatment, which meet the criteria for the disorder [38,43]. In the study by Martín-Fernández et al [38], all participants had diagnostic comorbidity, in accordance with other studies [44,45].…”

Relationship between Difficulty in Emotion Regulation and Internet Addiction in College Students: A One-Year Prospective Study

“…Low efficiency in information processing may limit individuals’ ability to access effective emotion regulation strategies. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for IA aims to increase the clients’ ability of impulse control by training clients’ skills to monitor their inner feelings and control impulse behaviors [ 41 , 42 , 43 ]. Research also found that electro-acupuncture had an advantage over psychological intervention in terms of impulsivity control in adolescents with IA [ 44 ].…”