A Comparative Study of Psychosocial Interventions for Internet Gaming Disorder Among Adolescents Aged 13–17 Years

Abstract

The present study is a quasi-experimental, prospective study of interventions for internet gaming disorder (IGD). One hundred four parents and their adolescent children were enrolled and allocated to one of the four treatment groups; 7-day Siriraj Therapeutic Residential Camp (S-TRC) alone, 8-week Parent Management Training for Game Addiction (PMT-G) alone, combined S-TRC and PMT-G, and basic psychoeducation (control). The severity of IGD was measured by the Game Addiction Screening Test (GAST). The mean difference among groups in GAST scores was statistically significant, with P values of < 0.001, 0.002, and 0.005 at 1, 3, and 6 months post-intervention, respectively. All groups showed improvement over the control group. The percentage of adolescents who remained in the addicted or probably addicted groups was less than 50% in the S-TRC, PMT-G, and combined groups. In conclusion, both S-TRC and PMT-G were effective psychosocial interventions for IGD and were superior to basic psychoeducation alone.