Effectiveness of Multimodal Psychotherapeutic Intervention for Internet Gaming Disorder
In this Psychiatry Research study, NIMHANS clinician Manoj Kumar Sharma and colleagues tested a ten-session, once-weekly intervention combining motivational strategies, cognitive restructuring, and behavioral techniques for people showing signs of internet gaming disorder. Of 40 young people enrolled, 33 (average age about 20) completed the eight-week program. Scores on standard internet-addiction and gaming-disorder screening tools dropped significantly from before to after treatment, and participants reported improved quality of life. The authors describe internet gaming disorder as a pattern of use associated with functional impairment rather than a settled diagnosis, and note the small, uncontrolled sample as a limitation calling for larger studies. TechKids Foundation cites this as one of the few published outcome studies from an Indian clinical program addressing problematic gaming in young people.
Mean scores on the Internet Addiction Test fell from 52.88 (SD 16.25) before the program to 42.87 (SD 11.31) after it, among the 33 participants who completed all sessions (t=5.10, p<.001).
40 participants (mean age 20.25) enrolled in the ten-session intervention; 33 completed it, the group analyzed for pre/post outcomes.
Sharma, Manoj Kumar, Nitin Anand, Ashwini Tadpatrikar, Palaniappan Marimuthu, and Gitanjali Narayanan. "Effectiveness of Multimodal Psychotherapeutic Intervention for Internet Gaming Disorder." Psychiatry Research 314 (2022): 114633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114633