This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Short-term CBT effective for internet, computer game addiction

A short-term manualized cognitive behavioral therapy program combining group and individual interventions for the treatment of internet and computer game addiction was effective, according to result from a randomized clinical trial published in JAMA Psychiatry.

“A growing body of research has indicated high prevalence rates for [internet addiction] of 3% to 6%,” Klaus Wölfling, PhD, from the department of psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany, and colleagues wrote. “Epidemiologic studies and data from predominantly male treatment seekers have linked [internet addiction] to psychosocial problems, psychopathologic disorders, poor physical health and decreased quality of life.”

To determine the effectiveness of short-term CBT for internet and computer game addiction, investigators randomly allocated 143 male outpatients with internet addiction to the treatment or wait-list control group. The CBT program sought to recover functional internet use and consisted of 15 weekly group and up to eight 2-week individual sessions.

The researchers examined participants using the Assessment of Internet and Computer Game Addiction Self-report (AICA-S; primary outcome) as well as self-reported internet addiction symptoms, time spent online on weekdays, psychosocial functioning, and depression (secondary outcomes) at baseline, 2 and 4 months after treatment, and, for the treatment group only, 6 months after treatment.

Overall, 69.4% of men in the treatment group achieved remission compared with 23.9% in the wait-list control group. Analysis indicated a much higher likelihood of remission in the treatment vs. the wait-list control group (OR = 10.1; 95% CI, 3.69-27.65) after adjusting for internet addiction baseline severity, comorbidity, treatment center and age.

At 6-month follow-up, 29 of 36 participants in the treatment group (80.6%) scored below the cutoff level for internet addiction, according to the study.

The researchers also observed significant main effects for treatment and wait-list control as well as interactions between time and treatment for self-reported and expert-reported internet addiction scores and time spent online during weekends. In addition, they found significant main effects for depression.

“[Short-term treatment for internet and computer game addiction] might be used as a benchmark as a nonpharmacologic intervention and serve as a treatment as usual condition in upcoming trials,” Wölfling and colleagues wrote. “Future studies should put a clear emphasis on collecting follow-up data and implement efficient strategies to ensure higher response rates.” – by Savannah Demko

Disclosure: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.