Effects of an online-based motivational intervention to reduce problematic internet use and promote treatment motivation in internet gaming disorder and internet use disorder (OMPRIS): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

IntroductionIn May 2019, the WHO classified internet gaming disorder (IGD) as a mental disorder in the upcoming International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision. However, individuals affected by IGD or internet use disorders (IUDs) are often not provided with adequate therapy due to a lack of motivation or absence of adequate local treatment options. To close the gap between individuals with IUDs and the care system, we conduct an online-based motivational intervention to reduce problematic internet use and promote treatment motivation in internet gaming disorder and internet use disorder (OMPRIS).Methods and analysisWithin the randomised controlled trial, a total of n=162 participants will be allocated by sequential balancing randomisation to the OMPRIS intervention or a waitlist control group. The study includes an extensive diagnostic, followed by a 4-week psychological intervention based on motivational interviewing, (internet-related) addiction therapy, behavioural therapy techniques and additional social counselling. The primary outcome is the reduction of problematic internet use measured by the Assessment of Internet and Computer Game Addiction Scale. Secondary outcomes include time spent on the internet, motivation for change (Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale for Internet Use Disorder), comorbid mental symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener-7), quality of life (EuroQoL Standardised Measure of Health-related Quality of Life–5 Dimensions, General Life Satisfaction-1), self-efficacy (General Self-Efficacy Scale), personality traits (Big Five Inventory-10), therapeutic alliance (Helping Alliance Questionnaire) and health economic costs. The diagnosis of (comorbid) mental disorders is carried out with standardised clinical interviews. The measurement will be assessed before (T0), at midpoint (T1) and after the OMPRIS intervention (T2), representing the primary endpoint. Two follow-up assessments will be conducted after 6 weeks (T3) and 6 months (T4) after the intervention. The outcomes will be analysed primarily via analysis of covariance. Both intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses will be conducted.Ethics and disseminationParticipants will provide written informed consent. The trial has been approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum (approval number 19-6779). Findings will be disseminated through presentations, peer-reviewed journals and conferences.Trial registration numberDRKS00019925.

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Problematic internet use: A scoping review – longitudinal research on a contemporary social problem, 2006–2017

Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs ◽

10.1177/1455072520941997 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 37 (6) ◽

pp. 497-525

Author(s):

Daniel Dahl ◽

Karin Helmersson Bergmark

Keyword(s):

Scoping Review ◽

Internet Addiction ◽

Social Life ◽

Internet Use ◽

Longitudinal Research ◽

Internet Gaming Disorder ◽

Research Field ◽

Problematic Internet Use ◽

Gaming Disorder ◽

Internet Gaming

Background and aims: Problematic internet use (PIU), and kindred concepts such as internet addiction (IA), make up a growing research field, partly due to the suggested inclusion of internet gaming disorder in a future DSM-6 as well as the fact that gaming disorder is on its way to being included in the ICD-11. Conclusions from research are far from unified. This study aims to synthesise the research field of problematic internet use/internet addiction/gaming disorder, with a focus on the reporting of prevalence and change. Methods: Longitudinal studies of PIU/IA formed the basis for a scoping review. Systematic searches of Web of Science, Scopus and Proquest, for peer-reviewed and published articles based on empirical data collected at a minimum of two time points for studies, and with an end point set at 2017, led to the inclusion of 97 studies. Endnote X7 was used to organise the results and NVivo 11 was used for synthesising the results. Results: Analyses focused on prevalence and change. Findings show variation among measures and prevalence as well as in reported outcomes relating to social life and other problems. Most studies reported relations between PIU/IA and other problems in life, but no specific time order could be established. Furthermore, many studies did not present data on prevalence or change even though using a longitudinal survey design. Discussion and conclusions: In summary, the research field is plagued by a lack of consensus and common understanding, regarding both measures, perceptions of the problem, and findings.

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The prevalence of problematic internet use among a sample of Egyptian adolescents and its psychiatric comorbidities

International Journal of Social Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/0020764020983841 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 002076402098384

Author(s):

Sherien Ahmed Khalil ◽

Hadeer Kamal ◽

Hussien Elkouly

Keyword(s):

Internet Addiction ◽

Internet Use ◽

Response Rate ◽

Internet Gaming Disorder ◽

Problematic Internet Use ◽

Gaming Addiction ◽

Gaming Disorder ◽

Significant Percentage ◽

Internet Gaming ◽

The Mean

Background: Problematic internet use has been identified in the last decade as a rising problem due to growing availability and impact of Internet use through social media, mobiles, and laptops are now a must in life, adolescents are most vulnerable for the misuse and its impacts. Aim: To assess the prevalence of problematic internet use, Facebook, and gaming addiction among Egyptian adolescents and its impact. Methods: The study assessed 700 adolescents aged from 14 to 18 years, both sexes, using Young internet addiction test, Internet gaming disorder scale, the Bergen Facebook addiction scale, the MINI international neuropsychiatry interview for children and adolescents and the socioeconomic status scale. Results: A total of 584 students continued the study to the end with response rate more than 75%, the mean age was 16.1 = 1.2, 65.6% were having internet addiction, 61.3% were gaming addicts, and 92.8% Facebook addicts. Depression, dysthymia, suicide, social anxiety panic, and phobias were common comorbidities in addicted adolescents. Conclusion: This study shows that a significant percentage of adolescents are having different patterns of problematic internet use which is negatively impacting their mental health.

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Beyond internet gaming disorder: problematic internet use or internet addiction in a Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) perspective

10.30435/aba.01.2019.05 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 01 (01) ◽

Author(s):

G. Grassi ◽

M.V. Ameringen ◽

I. Zilio ◽

S. Hasin

Keyword(s):

Internet Addiction ◽

Internet Use ◽

Internet Gaming Disorder ◽

Problematic Internet Use ◽

Gaming Disorder ◽

Research Domain Criteria ◽

Internet Gaming ◽

Research Domain

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Should Internet gaming disorder be considered a subtype of generalized problematic internet use? Findings from a study among medical college students

Perspectives In Psychiatric Care ◽

10.1111/ppc.12558 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yatan Pal Singh Balhara ◽

Swarndeep Singh ◽

Romil Saini ◽

Neha Dahiya ◽

Aakanksha Bharti Singh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Internet Use ◽

Internet Gaming Disorder ◽

Problematic Internet Use ◽

Gaming Disorder ◽

Medical College ◽

Internet Gaming

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Safety.Net: A Pilot Study on a Multi-Risk Internet Prevention Program

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18084249 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (8) ◽

pp. 4249

Author(s):

Jéssica Ortega-Barón ◽

Joaquín González-Cabrera ◽

Juan M. Machimbarrena ◽

Irene Montiel

Keyword(s):

Repeated Measures ◽

Internet Use ◽

Internet Gaming Disorder ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Online Gambling ◽

Problematic Internet Use ◽

Control Group ◽

Gaming Disorder ◽

Repeated Measures Design ◽

Internet Gaming

Many programs exist to prevent bullying and cyberbullying. Nevertheless, despite evidence of the numerous overlapping risks of the Internet, programs that jointly and adequately address large sets of risks are not presently described in the scientific literature. This study’s main objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Safety.net program in a pilot sample. This program prevents eight Internet risks: cyberbullying, sexting, online grooming, cyber dating abuse, problematic Internet use, nomophobia, Internet gaming disorder, and online gambling disorder. The Safety.net program comprises 16 sessions and 4 modules (digital skills, relational risks, dysfunctional risks, and change of attitudes and cognitions). Each session lasts one hour, but the program has a networked instructional design to recall previous content in later sessions. For its assessment, a pre/post-test repeated measures design with a control group and an intervention group was used. The study sample was 165 adolescents between 11 and 14 years old (M = 12.11, SD = 0.89). The intervention group demonstrated improvements compared to the control group concerning online grooming, problematic Internet use, Internet gaming disorder, and nomophobia. These results suggest that the Safety.net program is effective in preventing the increase of most of the assessed risks and that it reduces some of them with a small number of sessions.

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Prevalence and risk factors of internet gaming disorder and problematic internet use before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A large online survey of Japanese adults

10.1101/2021.03.30.21254614 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Taiki Oka ◽

Toshitaka Hamamura ◽

Yuka Miyake ◽

Nao Kobayashi ◽

Masaru Honjo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Internet Use ◽

Online Survey ◽

Internet Gaming Disorder ◽

Modern Society ◽

Lifestyle Changes ◽

Problematic Internet Use ◽

Gaming Disorder ◽

Internet Gaming ◽

The Impact

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and problematic internet use (PIU) are becoming increasingly detrimental in modern society, with serious consequences for daily functioning. IGD and PIU may be exacerbated by lifestyle changes imposed by the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study investigated changes in IGD and PIU during the pandemic and risk factors for them. This study is a part of a larger online study on problematic smartphone use in Japan, originally planned in 2019, and expanded in August 2020 to include the impact of COVID-19. 51,246 adults completed an online survey during the pandemic (August 2020), in Japan. Of these, 3,938 had also completed the survey before the onset of the pandemic (December, 2019) and were used as the study population to determine how the pandemic has influenced IGD and PIU. IGD was assessed using the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale (IGDS). PIU was measured using the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS). The prevalence of probable IGD during COVID-19 was 4.1% [95%CI, 3.9% to 4.2%] overall (N=51,246), and 8.6% among younger people (age < 30), higher than reported before the pandemic (1 - 2.5%). Probable PIU was 7.8% [95%CI, 7.6% to 8.1%] overall, and 17.0% [95%CI, 15.9% to 18.2%] among younger people, also higher than reported before the pandemic (3.2 - 3.7%). Comparisons before and during the pandemic, revealed that probable IGD prevalence has increased 1.6 times, and probable PIU prevalence by 1.5 times (IGD: t3937 = 5.93, p < .001, PIU: t3937 = 6.95, p < .001). Youth (age < 30) and COVID-19 infection were strongly associated with IGD exacerbation (odds ratio, 2.10 [95%CI, 1.18 to 3.75] and 5.67 [95%CI, 1.33 to 24.16]). Internet gaming disorder and problematic internet use appear to be aggravated by the pandemic. In particular, younger persons and people infected with COVID-19 are at higher risk for Internet Gaming Disorder. Prevention of these problems is needed.

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