A Psychotherapy Development Study for Internet Gaming

A Psychotherapy Development Study for a New Addictive Disorder

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) introduces Internet Gaming disorder (IGD) as a Substance-Related and Addictive Disorder in Section 3, Conditions for Further Study. Although research is in the nascent stages, existing studies demonstrate that IGD is associated with psychosocial distress including suicidality, and adverse vocational and educational outcomes in youth. Internet gaming disorder also shares substantial overlap with substance use, and it primarily affects adolescents, who rarely seek treatment on their own. Parents more often express concerns about their child's game playing behaviors, and data suggest that parents can have strong influences on it. This psychotherapy development study will evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and effect sizes of a behavioral intervention designed to help parents reduce gaming problems in their children. Sixty concerned parents and their children will complete parental and self-report inventories and structured diagnostic interviews regarding the child's gaming behaviors, substance use and psychosocial functioning. Participants will be randomized to either a control condition consisting of referral for mental health issues and family support services or to the same plus a 6-week family-based behavioral intervention designed to assist with better monitoring and regulating the child's game playing behaviors and encouraging and rewarding alternatives to game playing. Gaming and other problems will be assessed pre-treatment, mid-treatment, at the end of treatment, and at a 4-month follow-up. This study is unique in evaluating initial psychometric properties of a parental version of a measure that uses the DSM-5 criteria for IGD in a clinical sample, and it will also assess associations of IGD with substance use, psychological symptoms, and family functioning over time. Most importantly, this study will be the first randomized trial of an intervention designed to reduce gambling problems, and results are likely to guide future research and treatment efforts related to this condition.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Internet Gaming Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Referral for care; Behavioral: Behavioral therapy

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Connecticut
    • Farmington, Connecticut, United States, 06030
      • UConn Health

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 10 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• parent/guardian of a 10-19 year old residing in the same household >8 months/year
• reports significant problems with game playing

Exclusion Criteria:

• have a condition that may hinder study participation

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Referral for care; Referral for mental health issues and family support services	Behavioral: Referral for care; referral for addictions support
Experimental: Behavioral therapy; 8-week behavioral intervention designed to assist with better monitoring and regulating the child's game playing behaviors	Behavioral: Referral for care; referral for addictions support; Behavioral: Behavioral therapy; therapy focused on monitoring gaming behavior and replacing it with other activities and communication skills

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Percentage of Participants Who Completed All 6 Sessions	Completion of sessions is an indicator of treatment acceptability and feasibility	12 weeks
Number of Days of Gaming in Past Week - Reported by Child	Number of days of game playing in past week is an indicator of severity of the gaming problem.	12 weeks
Number of Days of Gaming in the Past Week - Reported by Parent	Number of days of gaming is an indicator of the severity of the gaming problem.	12 weeks
Number of Symptoms of Internet Gaming Disorder - Assessed Through a Clinical Interview With Child	Examines whether the treatment group showed greater reductions in symptoms of Internet gaming disorder than the control group. Ratings of Internet gaming disorder symptoms were assessed using a clinical interview with the child, conducted by trained assessors blind to treatment condition.	12 weeks
Number of Symptoms of Internet Gaming Disorder - Assessed Through a Clinical Interview With Parent	Examines whether the treatment group showed greater reductions in symptoms of Internet gaming disorder than the control group. Ratings of Internet gaming disorder symptoms were assessed using a clinical interview with the parent, conducted by trained assessors blind to treatment condition.	12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: UConn Health
• Collaborators: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Kristyn Zajac, PhD, UConn Health

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 1, 2017
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): July 1, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 14, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 14, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): July 18, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 7, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 3, 2022
• Last Verified: February 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Compulsive Behavior; Impulsive Behavior; Behavior, Addictive; Internet Addiction Disorder
• Other Study ID Numbers: 17-028-2; R21DA042900 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No