Abstract
Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is a formal mental disorder leading to bad outcomes for children and adolescents. This study comprehensively compared the estimated effect of various pharmacotherapy and psychosocial interventions for IGD from randomized controlled trials (RCT) through updated meta-analysis, using meta-regression. A search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and Airiti Library between 2000 and 2017 was conducted for various IA/IGD intervention modalities. A total of 124 studies from 29 selected papers involving 5601 children and young adults with IA/IGD were found. Meta-analyzing the pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) revealed a preliminary random effect of 1.399 with a 95% confidence interval of 1.272–1.527, suggesting highly effective treatment of IA/IGD. After adjusting for the confounding risks of age, publication year, type of subjects, and type of study, this study revealed that combining pharmacotherapy with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or multi-level counseling (MLC) was the most effective treatment option. Using a scale of time spent online or a severity of IA symptoms scale was a more effective measurement, with p-values = 0.006 and 0.002, respectively. IA/IGD patients with comorbid depression showed worse outcomes than youth with another comorbidity. The corresponding model goodness-of-fit indices were τ2 = 1.188; I2-Residual = 89.74%; and Adjusted-R2 = 16.10%. This systematic review indicates that pharmacotherapy combined with CBT or MLC might be an effective therapeutic strategy for youth with gaming disorder.
Highlights
Children and adolescents have had an increasing risk of internet addiction (IA) or internet gaming disorder (IGD) during the COVID-19 pandemic
The prolonged use of internet and gaming due to social restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic or limited human face-to-face interpersonal contact during the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increasing rate of internet addiction or gaming disorder [1,2,3]
The meta-analysis consisted of 124 studies of 5601 subjects with IA/IGD
Summary
Children and adolescents have had an increasing risk of internet addiction (IA) or internet gaming disorder (IGD) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The prolonged use of internet and gaming due to social restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic or limited human face-to-face interpersonal contact during the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increasing rate of internet addiction or gaming disorder [1,2,3]. Worldwide mental health experts have been more concerned about depression and anxiety symptoms among children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic [4]. Mental health professionals might worry more about the psychological and physical consequences caused by internet gaming disorder, and increasingly focus on developing treatment and preventative intervention for IGD [5].
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