Internet Gaming Disorder
Conditions
Keywords
Motivational interviewing, Family counselling, Effective treatment, Randomized controlled trial
Brief summary
The present study examines the efficacy of CMI in reducing adolescent IGD symptoms and enhancing social support given by CSOs among adolescents with high risk of IGD (probable IGD cases screened positive by validated tools). It is hypothesized that the intervention group (with CMI plus IGD education materials for both the clients and his/her selected CSO) would show more improvements in reduction in the severity of IGD, motivation to change maladaptive gaming behaviour, craving on gaming, and social support obtained from CSOs than to the control group (only educational materials for both the client and the CSOs).
Detailed description
This study adopts a randomized controlled efficacy study with an open-label parallel-group design. The trial will be registered by the WHO's International Clinical Trials Registry Platform once the project is approved. Research participants will be recruited from the primary and secondary schools, and youth social services. After completing the screening process, research participants who are confirmed to fit the inclusion criteria will be randomly assigned to the intervention group with CMI intervention plus IGD education materials to both adolescents with IGD and their CSO or the control group with IGD education materials alone. The present study sets four-time points to track the change in the between-group difference of the primary and secondary outcomes from the baseline (T0) to post-intervention (T1), 3-month follow-up (T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3).
Interventions
BEHAVIORALCollective Motivational Interviewing plus Education Materials
The participants in the intervention group will receive IGD educational materials as well as four counseling sessions of CMI intervention.
OTHERControl group (Education Materials)
The participants in the control group will receive IGD educational materials.
Sponsors
The University of Hong Kong
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Nottingham Trent University
Fudan University
Hong Kong College of Technology
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
The present study adopted a two-armed RCT to examine the efficacy of CMI in improving IGD among adolescents with IGD. The research participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group (four-session CMI intervention plus IGD educational materials) or the control group (IGD education materials alone). Block randomization will be executed, of which the block size is 4. Computer-generated randomization allocation codes will be produced and sealed in opaque envelopes by a research associate with no involvement in recruitment. One envelope will be drawn and opened by the project officer.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
10 Years to 16 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
for Adolescents: * Aged between 10-16 * Probable IGD condition screened by the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) reaching the cut-off value at 21, those at high risk of having IGD but no IGD cases with clinical diagnosis, although the symptoms measured by IGDS9-SF are equivalent to DSM-5 IGD criteria) * Hong Kong ID card holder * Chinese speaking * Student identity * Possessing an electronic mobile device or computer * Willingness to participate in the intervention/control group and complete four surveys (baseline, post-intervention, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up) * Can nominate a CSO (e.g., parents) \[client's autonomy is a critical factor to facilitate motivation posited by the self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2020) (9) to obtain informed consent and parental consent Inclusion Criteria for CSO: * Aged greater than 18 years * Having a close relationship with the adolescent with probable IGD (as rated by participants being generally supportive of the participants) * Being willing to participate in the present study and provide informed consent
Exclusion criteria
for Adolescents: * Participants who have psychiatric problems such as psychosis, significant cognitive impairment and/or receiving active and structured psychotherapy about IGD elsewhere will be excluded (Nielsen et al., 2021).
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Severity of IGD | Change from Baseline (T0) Severity of IGD at posttest (T1: After intervention) | The nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) are used to detect the change in the severity of IGD. It is the first brief standardized psychometric tool of IGD based on the nine DSM-5 IGD criteria. This instrument has been translated into 15 languages and is widely used in research and clinical settings. In addition, a validated Chinese version with satisfactory psychometric properties is available (Qin et al., 2020). The items were rated by using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Never to 5 = Very often). |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Craving for Internet Gaming | Change from Baseline (T0) Craving for Internet Gaming at posttest (T1: After intervention) | Craving for Internet Gaming Scale (CIGS) is used to measure respondents' intensity, frequency, duration of their craving, and capability to resist acting on their craving for a particular period of time. It comprises five-item, scoring from 0 to 6 for each item. Respondents with higher scores tend to have higher levels of gaming craving (Cronbach's alpha was .88-.91) (Savci & Griffiths, 2019). |
| Social support from CSO | Change from Baseline (T0) Social support from CSO at posttest (T1: After intervention) | The 4-item significant other subscales of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) will be used. It is a self-reporting instrument designed for assessing the level of perceived social support from significant others. The items are scored on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 7 (very strongly agree). The Cantonese version has demonstrated a high internal consistency coefficient with a Cronbach's alpha of .89 (Chou, 2000). |
| Motivation to change maladaptive gaming behaviour | Change from Baseline (T0) Motivation to change maladaptive gaming behaviour at posttest (T1: After intervention) | Contemplation Ladder for Internet Gaming (CL-LG), which is derived from the Contemplation Ladder measure the motivation to quit smoking (Biener & Abrams, 1991), are employed. Contemplation Ladder for drug use problems is commonly used in clinical settings and research in Hong Kong (Siu et al., 2018). The instrument measures the motivation to abstain from maladaptive gaming behaviors based on a single brief option of 11 rungs and five types of statements. The instrument is rated on a scale from 0 to 10, with each point representing a specific statement showing a corresponding stage of change. The ladder has been used in smoking cessation studies, which displayed strong reliability and validity with strong intercorrelations (Pearson's r = .82 - .98) (Rustin & Tate, 1993). |
| Parental Stress | Change from Baseline (T0) Parental Stress at posttest (T1: After intervention) | The 17-items Parental Stress Scale (PSS). The items are scored on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 6 (very strongly agree). |
| Motivation for treatment | Change from Baseline (T0) Motivation for treatment at posttest (T1: After intervention) | The 8-item Motivation for Youth's Treatment Scale (MYTS). The items are scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 5 (very strongly agree). |
| Child-Parent Relationship | Change from Baseline (T0) Child-Parent Relationship at posttest (T1: After intervention) | The Child-Parent Relationship Scale (C-PRS). The items are scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 5 (very strongly agree). |
Countries
Hong Kong
Outcome results
None listed