The Mindful Media Project

The Mindful Media Project: Can Mindfulness Meditation Reduce for Problematic Internet Use

Problematic Internet Use (PIU) is an emerging mental health issue. Research consistently shows that university students are disproportionately vulnerable to experiencing PIU, and that this can be linked with both poorer academic performance and mental health outcomes. Despite these adverse consequences, there has been no research to date on treatments for those experiencing PIU.

Preliminary research suggests that one promising candidate is mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness is a popular form of brain training that helps develop an ability to sit with uncomfortable thoughts and emotions, break compulsive behavioural patterns and make more mindful behavioural choices. The current proof-of-concept study aims to investigate the clinical potential of mindfulness meditation in reducing PIU severity for Australian university students who endorse moderate to severe PIU symptoms.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Problematic Internet Use
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Mindfulness Meditation

Detailed Description

Problematic Use of the Internet (PUI) is an umbrella term encapsulating excessive and uncontrolled engagement with internet-related activities. PIU is increasingly recognised as an emerging mental health issue. It is characterised by a perceived loss of control over internet use despite repeated attempts to regulate it, and excessive internet-specific preoccupations or urges that result in distress and life impairment. Research consistently shows that university students are disproportionately vulnerable to experiencing PIU, and that this can be linked with both poorer academic performance and mental health outcomes.

Despite these adverse consequences, there has been no research to date on treatments for those experiencing PIU. Preliminary research suggests that one promising candidate for addressing PIU is mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness is a popular form of brain training that helps develop an ability to sit with uncomfortable thoughts and emotions, break compulsive behavioural patterns and make more mindful behavioural choices.

The current study is a proof of principal investigation. The primary aim is to evaluate the efficacy of a brief mindfulness meditation intervention for PIU among Australian university students who endorse moderate to severe PIU. The study will investigate a 30 day combination of daily meditation practice using the Headspace Inc supported by weekly online group meditation tuition. In order to support participant engagement in the meditation practices, a range of behaviour change techniques will be applied. A secondary is to evaluation the efficacy of these behaviour change techniques in support engagement.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 26
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Australia
  • Victoria
    • Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3800
      • Monash University, BrainPark

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 60 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Voluntary and able to provide informed consent
• Endorse current moderate to severe PIU on IAT-10
• Currently attending an Australian university (full-time or part-time, international or domestic student)
• Ability to adhere to study procedures
• If taking psychoactive medication, have been stable on same type and dose for at least 4 weeks prior to study commencement

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of neurological illness or moderate to severe brain injury
• Severely impaired visual/auditory ability
• Diagnosed history of learning difficulty or other condition involving cognitive impairment as a primary feature.
• Lack of both verbal and written fluency in English
• Have engaged in > 10 instances of formal mindfulness meditation practice in past 12 months

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Mindfulness Meditation; 30-day program of mindfulness meditation comprising weekly group meditation tuition and support sessions and daily app-based mediation practice.	Behavioral: Mindfulness Meditation; 30-day mediation program comprising: Weekly group mediation tuition and support sessions delivered online. Sessions will last 45-60 minutes and focus on mindfulness meditation theory and techniques, and trouble shooting barriers to practice and engagement.; 10-minutes of daily mindfulness meditation practice with the Headspace Inc app.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Problematic Internet Use (PIU) severity	10-item abbreviated Internet Addiction Test (IAT-10). Scores range from 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating increasing severity of PIU.	Change from baseline PIU severity at 1 month (post-intervention).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in response inhibition	Stop Signal Task	Baseline (0 months), Post-Intervention (1 month), Follow-Up (2-months)
Change in psychological distress	The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) consists of 21 items, 7 items per subscale: depression, anxiety and stress. For each subscale, scores can range from 0 to 42, with higher scores indicating greater severity or worse outcomes.	Change from baseline psychological distress at 1 month (post-intervention) and 2 months (one-month follow-up post intervention).
Change in experiential avoidance	The Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (BEAQ) is a 15-item short form of the Multidimensional Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire. Scores can range from 15 to 90, with higher scores indicating greater experiential avoidance.	Change from baseline experiential avoidance at 1 month (post-intervention) and 2 months (one-month follow-up post intervention).
Change in trait mindfulness	The Cognitive Affective Mindfulness Scale Revised (CAMS-R) is a 12-item scale, with scores ranging from 12 to 48. High scores indicate greater mindful qualities.	Change from baseline trait mindfulness at 1 month (post-intervention) and 2 months (one-month follow-up post intervention).
Change in psychological wellbeing	The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) is a 14-item measure of psychological wellbeing, with scores ranging from 14 to 70. Higher scores indicate higher levels of mental wellbeing.	Change from baseline psychological wellbeing at 1 month (post-intervention) and 2 months (one-month follow-up post intervention).
Change in resilience	The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale is a 10-item scale measuring resilience. Scores range from 0 to 40, and higher scores indicate higher resilience.	Change from baseline resilience at 1 month (post-intervention) and 2 months (one-month follow-up post intervention).
Change in social connectedness	The Campaign to End Loneliness Tool is a brief 3-item measure of social connectedness. Scores range from 0 to 12, and higher scores reflect greater social connectedness.	Change from baseline social connectedness at 1 month (post-intervention) and 2 months (one-month follow-up post intervention).
Number of participants retained in mindfulness intervention	Number of participants who completed the intervention	Post-Intervention (1 month)
Engagement in intervention	Number of meditation sessions completed	Post-Intervention (1 month)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Monash University
• Collaborators: Headspace, Inc

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 16, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 16, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): December 30, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 10, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 28, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): December 1, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 6, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 4, 2022
• Last Verified: April 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 29159

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