Improving the Health-Related Quality of Life in Adolescents with Internet Gaming Disorder

Abstract

ObjectiveThe present study aimed to examine whether the treatment of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) inadolescents via Attentional Bias Modification (ABM) improves their health-related quality of life.Method34 adolescents with IGD who were 12-17 years old were randomly assigned to experimental (n = 16) andcontrol (n = 18) groups. The experimental group received ABM, while no interventions were delivered to the controlgroup. Attentional bias, IGD severity, and health-related quality of life were assessed using Modified Stroop Task,Internet Gaming Disorder-20 (IGD-20), and KIDSCREEN-52 questionnaires, respectively. Data from pre-test, posttest, and two months follow-up measurements were analyzed using two-way mixed measures ANOVA and Fisher’sleast significant difference (LSD) via SPSS software.ResultsABM successfully reduced attentional bias and IGD severity and improved health-related quality of life inadolescents of the experimental group (p 0.05).ConclusionIt could be concluded that ABM not only reduces the severity of IGD in adolescents, but also improvestheir health-related quality of life, although further research is required for the understanding of its mechanisms ofeffects.