Gaming Habit Hacker: A randomised controlled trial to determine the effect of internet-delivered planning interventions for adult gamers on gaming duration

Gaming Habit Hacker is a self-directed internet-delivered brief intervention for gaming reduction. It is informed by the Health Action Process Approach and implementation intentions literature, and delivered in accordance with Self-Determination Theory. The intervention group will receive Gaming Habit Hacker for 28 days. Gaming Habit Hacker contains a selection of behaviour change techniques aimed at bridging the gap between intention and behaviour. In the order of delivery, specific behaviour change techniques include (i) feedback on assessment, (ii) goal setting, (iii) action planning, (iv) coping planning and (v) feedback on outcomes of behaviour. The Gaming Habit Hacker website is accessed via a website with a log-in. (i) Feedback on assessment: Participants receive immediate personalised feedback on baseline assessment. Feedback will be presented on a one-page report at the end of the baseline survey on Qualtrics, where Qualtrics will automatically formulate personalised feedback. Personalised normative feedback will be presented on gaming duration. Personalised feedback on scores will be presented on gaming frequency, gaming severity, mental wellbeing, mental distress, relationship quality, sleep difficulty, confidence to resist gaming urges and gaming cravings. The anticipated duration needed to complete the baseline assessment and review the feedback is around 20 minutes. (ii) Goal setting: In the Gaming Habit Hacker website, participants will construct their goal for gaming reduction. Participants will also set their intended gaming duration and frequency over the next 28 days with the TimeLine FollowForward calendar-based system, which is embedded in the Gaming Habit Hacker website. Using the TimeLine FollowForward aims to improve the clarity and specificity of goals, supports autonomy (Self-Determination Theory), and supports goal intentions. Goal setting is expected to take around 5 minutes to complete. (iii) Action planning: Participants will develop at least one action plan within the first 7 days in the Gaming Habit Hacker website. Prompts include what, when, and where to implement plans for gaming reduction. Gaming Habit Hacker provides participants with behaviour change strategies for gaming reduction drawn from lived experience research, to guide plan development. Participants can see sample action plans. Participants are also prompted once a week (alongside weekly check-ins) to make additional action plans over the 28-day intervention period. Each action plan is expected to take around 10 minutes to complete. (iv) Coping planning: Participants will record barriers or obstacles to each action plan and create backup plans in the Gaming Habit Hacker website within the first 7 days. Coping planning is expected to take around 10 minutes to complete. Participants are also prompted once a week (alongside weekly check-ins) to make additional coping plans over the 28-day intervention period. Each coping plan is expected to take around 10 minutes to complete. (v) Feedback on outcomes of behaviour: Participants will receive at least four sessions of feedback on outcomes on behaviour, in total. Specifically, participants will receive at least one session of feedback on their action and coping plans (the number of feedback sessions depends on how many plans participants make) and three weekly check-ins for feedback on progress. All feedback and communication on action and coping plans will be delivered by a coach in the Gaming Habit Hacker website via in-website goal/plan-specific messaging. Feedback will focus on strengthening the detail of plans and assisting participants in building more effective and comprehensive plans. This session will be delivered within 48 hours of the plan being created in the website, and take around 5 minutes for each plan. A coach will also provide weekly check-ins via email (total of three check-ins across the trial) and provide relevant feedback on progress in the Gaming Habit Hacker website. Feedback will specifically be on the current duration and frequency of gaming against the intended duration and frequency set at the program’s start. Where there is a deviation between goal and behaviour, the coach will prompt the participant to revisit their action and coping plans. The coach will also suggest specific content from lived experience information that might assist with the enhancement of plans. Each weekly check-in will take around 10 minutes, which is around 30 minutes in total for three check-ins. There will be at least two coaches with postgraduate degrees in population health, who received extensive training in the protocol and motivational interviewing (MI). The principal investigator will train coaches in the study protocol. MI training will be provided by the study supervisor, who has a PhD in psychology and clinical expertise in the treatment of addiction. Training will be delivered via a handbook and video conferencing. The anticipated duration of training is 4 hours, and training will be completed at least 3 weeks prior to the first participant enrolment. The first four items (feedback on assessment, goal setting, action planning, and coping planning) will be completed within the first seven days. Once the minimum requirement of the four items has been completed, the amount of time that participants will spend on the Gaming Habit Hacker website is left to their own discretion. However, participants will be prompted to revisit the website at each check-in to edit, add, and adapt plans over the 28-day intervention period.