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The Effectiveness of 4-STEP-Training Program for Social Media Addiction (4-STEP-TPS) and Psychological Problems Among Adolescence (4-STEP-TPS)

27 avril 2026 mis à jour par: Qasir Abbas, Government College University Faisalabad

Effectiveness of 4-Step-Training Program for Social Media Addiction(4-STEP-TPS) and Psychological Problems Among Adolescence: A Randomezed Control Trial.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the 4-STEP Training Program in reducing social media addiction and improving psychological well-being among adolescents. Increasing use of social media has been linked with anxiety, depression, stress, sleep problems, low self-esteem, and reduced academic performance, particularly among adolescents who are more vulnerable to social comparison, fear of missing out, and reliance on online validation. To address this issue, a structured intervention integrating psychoeducation, cognitive-behavioral techniques, and relapse prevention strategies is implemented. The study will involve adolescents aged 13-18 years from private schools and colleges, selected based on standardized cut-off scores for social media addiction and low flourishing. The effectiveness of the program will be assessed by comparing experimental and control groups using validated psychological measures. It is expected that the intervention will significantly reduce social media addiction and psychological distress while improving emotional regulation, flourishing, and academic functioning.

Aperçu de l'étude

Statut

Pas encore de recrutement

Les conditions

Intervention / Traitement

Description détaillée

The present study focuses on the growing concern of social media addiction among adolescents and its associated psychological consequences. In this research the study will be conducted on adolescents aged 13 to 18 years from selected private schools and colleges. A sample of approximately N=120 participants initially enrolled and will be screened out using standardized criteria, including scores above the cut-off on the Social Networking Addiction Scale and below the cut-off on the Secure Flourish Index. After eligibility assessment and screening based on standardised measure N=80 participants will be randomly assigned to either an experimental group receiving the intervention or a waitlist control group. Data will be collected using validated psychological scales measuring social media addiction, flourishing, anxiety, depression, stress, fatigue, insomnia, family relationships, and academic productivity.

The effectiveness of the intervention will be assessed by comparing pre- and post-intervention outcomes between the two groups using statistical analysis. It is expected that the 4-STEP Training Program will significantly reduce problematic social media use and psychological distress while enhancing emotional regulation, psychological well-being, academic engagement, and overall functioning among adolescents. This study is intended to contribute to the development of practical, structured, and evidence-based interventions for managing social media addiction in youth populations.

To address this growing issue, the study introduces the 4-STEP Training Program, a structured and evidence-based intervention designed to reduce social media addiction and improve psychological functioning. The program integrates four key components: screening and psychoeducation, treatment planning and cognitive-behavioral strategies, effective behavioral management techniques, and relapse prevention. These components aim to help adolescents identify maladaptive thoughts and behaviors related to social media use, develop healthier coping strategies, and build long-term self-regulation skills.

Type d'étude

Interventionnel

Inscription (Estimé)

80

Phase

  • N'est pas applicable

Contacts et emplacements

Cette section fournit les coordonnées de ceux qui mènent l'étude et des informations sur le lieu où cette étude est menée.

Coordonnées de l'étude

  • Nom: Qasir Abbas Qasir Abbas, PhD Clinical Psychology
  • Numéro de téléphone: 10245 923337683133
  • E-mail: drqasirabbas@gcuf.edu.pk

Sauvegarde des contacts de l'étude

Lieux d'étude

  • Pakistan
    • Punjab Province
      • Faisalabad, Punjab Province, Pakistan, 38000
        • Government College University Faisalabad
        • Contact:
          • Qasir Abbas QasirAbbas, PhD Clinical Psychology
          • Numéro de téléphone: 10245 923337683133
          • E-mail: drqasirabbas@gcuf.edu.pk

Critères de participation

Les chercheurs recherchent des personnes qui correspondent à une certaine description, appelée critères d'éligibilité. Certains exemples de ces critères sont l'état de santé général d'une personne ou des traitements antérieurs.

Critère d'éligibilité

Âges éligibles pour étudier

  • Enfant
  • Adulte

Accepte les volontaires sains

Oui

La description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adolescents aged 13-18 years
  • Individuals reporting moderate to high levels of social media addiction (based on standardized scale cut-off, e.g., BSMAS/SNAS)
  • Regular social media users with an average daily usage of 4 hours or more
  • Willingness to participate with informed consent and parental consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Adolescents who do not meet the inclusion criteria
  • Diagnosed with severe psychiatric disorders (e.g., psychosis, severe depression)
  • Currently receiving psychological or psychiatric treatment for addiction-related problems
  • Presence of serious physical or neurological conditions
  • Individuals who are not regular social media users
  • Participants who fail to complete pre-test or post-test assessments

Plan d'étude

Cette section fournit des détails sur le plan d'étude, y compris la façon dont l'étude est conçue et ce que l'étude mesure.

Comment l'étude est-elle conçue ?

Détails de conception

  • Objectif principal: Traitement
  • Répartition: Randomisé
  • Modèle interventionnel: Affectation parallèle
  • Masquage: Aucun (étiquette ouverte)

Armes et Interventions

Groupe de participants / Bras
Intervention / Traitement
Expérimental: 1st Arm ( 1-Experimental)
Participants in the experimental group will receive the 4-STEP Training Program for Social Media Addiction (4-STEP-TPS). The intervention consists of four sequential phases: (1) screening, assessment, and psychoeducation, (2) treatment conceptualization and planning, (3) effective management strategies including cognitive-behavioral and self-regulation techniques, and (4) relapse prevention. Each phase includes structured sessions (90 minutes each) delivered over a period of four weeks in an individualized format. The program aims to reduce social media addiction and improve psychological well-being, sleep patterns, and academic functioning.
Comportemental: 4-STEP-Training Program for Social Media Addiction (4-STEP-TPS)
The 4-STEP Training Program (4-STEP-TPS) is distinguished from existing interventions by its structured, multi-component, and individualized approach specifically designed for adolescent social media addiction. Unlike traditional interventions that often rely on a single method such as psychoeducation or cognitive-behavioral therapy alone, this program integrates psychoeducation, case conceptualization, cognitive-behavioral techniques, self-regulation strategies, and relapse prevention within a sequential four-step framework. It is delivered on an individual basis, allowing personalized goal-setting and intervention planning according to each participant's social media use patterns and psychological needs. Additionally, the program incorporates continuous self-monitoring and behavioral tracking to enhance awareness and control over usage behaviors. Another key feature is its holistic focus, addressing not only addiction but also related outcomes such as psychological distress, sleep pr
Aucune intervention: 2nd Arm ( Waitlist Control Condition )
Participants in the waitlist control group will not receive the intervention during the study period. They will continue their routine activities without any structured treatment. However, after completion of the study and post-assessment, they will be offered the 4-STEP Training Program. This group serves as a comparison to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.

Que mesure l'étude ?

Principaux critères de jugement

Mesure des résultats
Description de la mesure
Délai
Social Networking Addiction Scale (SNAS, Shahnawaz & Rehman, 2020)
Délai: At Screening , after 4 weeks, and re-assessment upto 6-months
The Social Networking Addiction Scale (SNAS) was developed to measure addiction of all forms of social networking across six-dimensions salience (items 1-4), mood modification (items 5-7), tolerance (items 8-10), withdrawal (items 11-14), conflict (item 1517), and relapse (items 18-21) (Shahnawaz & Rehman, 2020). The SNAS is a 21-item self-reported scale rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The score can range from 21 to 147. Any total score above 84 indicates addiction. The scale has demonstrated good test-retest reliability (0.88) and good validity, as reported by Shahnawaz and Rehman (2020).
At Screening , after 4 weeks, and re-assessment upto 6-months
Secure Flourish Index (SFI, Weziak-Bialowolska et al., 2017)
Délai: At Screening after 4 weeks and reassessment upto 6 months
The Secure Flourish Index (SFI) was developed to measure long-term flourishing across 6 domains happiness and life satisfaction (items 1-2), physical and mental health (items 3-4), meaning and purpose (items 5-6), character and virtue (items 7-8), close social relationships (items 9-10), and financial and material stability (items 11-12) (WeziakBialowolska et al., 2017). It is a self-report scale with 2 items per domain, totaling 12 items, rated on a 0-10 scale. Total scores range from 0 to 120, with higher scores indicating greater flourishing. It has an internal consistency of 0.85 and good construct validity (Weziak-Bialowolska et al., 2017).
At Screening after 4 weeks and reassessment upto 6 months
Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS, Michielsen et al., 2003)
Délai: At Screening, after 4, weeks and re-assessment upto 6-months
The Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS) was developed to evaluate the physical and mental symptoms of fatigue (Michielsen et al., 2003). It is a self-report measure with 10 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). The scale has 2 subscales: mental fatigue, measured by the sum of items 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9, and physical fatigue, measured by the sum of items 1, 2, 4, 5, and 10. Items 4 and 10 are reverse-scored. The total scores range from 10 (lowest level of fatigue) to 50 (highest level of fatigue). The scale has an internal consistency of 0.90 and good validity (Michielsen et al., 2003).
At Screening, after 4, weeks and re-assessment upto 6-months
Insomnia Severity Index (ISI, Bastien et al., 2001)
Délai: At Screening , after 4 weeks, and re-assessment upto 6-months
The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) was developed as a screening measure for insomnia as well as an outcome measure in treatment research (Bastien et al., 2001). It is a self-report measure with 7 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 to 4. The total score ranges from 0 to 28, with higher scores indicating more severe insomnia symptoms. Although not validated, the developers suggest cutoff scores to be used for interpretation, with total scores of 0-7 indicating "no clinically significant insomnia," scores between 8-14 indicating "subthreshold insomnia," scores between 15-21 indicating "clinical insomnia (moderate severity)," and scores in the range 22-28 indicating "clinical insomnia (severe)." The scale has an internal consistency of 0.74 (Bastien et al., 2001).
At Screening , after 4 weeks, and re-assessment upto 6-months
Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS, Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995)
Délai: At Screening, after 4 week and re-assessment upto 6 months
The DASS-21 is the shortened version of the DASS-42 and was designed to measure the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995). It is a self-report measure with 21 items rated on a 4-point Likert scale (0-3). Each of the three DASS-21 scales, depression (items 3, 5, 10, 13, 16, 17, 21), anxiety (items 2, 4, 7, 9, 15, 19, 20), and stress (items 1, 6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 18), contains 7 items. The scale has good internal consistency and construct validity in both clinical and non-clinical samples (Antony et al., 1998). Scores on the DASS-21 must be multiplied by 2 to obtain the final score. After obtaining the final score for each depression, anxiety, and stress, the final score is compared to the recommended cut-off scores for severity labels (normal, moderate, severe).
At Screening, after 4 week and re-assessment upto 6 months
The Brief Family Relationship Scale (BFRS, Fok, Allen, Henry, 2014)
Délai: After Screening, 4 weeks and re-asessment upto 6 months
The Brief Family Relationship Scale (BFRS) was proposed and validated by Fok, Allen, Henry, and the People Awakening Team (2014). This 16-item instrument was specifically adapted from the Relationship dimension of the original Family Environment Scale (FES) developed by Moos and Moos (1994). By refining the original 27-item. By developing a 16-item measure of the relationship dimension, the authors provided a practical and efficient way to assess three core components of family functioning: Cohesion, Expressiveness, and Conflict. This scale is particularly valued in research involving adolescent populations, as it offers a reliable assessment of the family environment while remaining brief enough for use in large-scale community and clinical studies (Fok et al., 2014; Moos & Moos, 1994).
After Screening, 4 weeks and re-asessment upto 6 months

Collaborateurs et enquêteurs

C'est ici que vous trouverez les personnes et les organisations impliquées dans cette étude.

Parrainer

Government College University Faisalabad

Les enquêteurs

  • Chercheur principal: Qasir Abbas Qasir Abbas, PhD Clinical Psychology, Government College University Faisalabad

Dates d'enregistrement des études

Ces dates suivent la progression des dossiers d'étude et des soumissions de résultats sommaires à ClinicalTrials.gov. Les dossiers d'étude et les résultats rapportés sont examinés par la Bibliothèque nationale de médecine (NLM) pour s'assurer qu'ils répondent à des normes de contrôle de qualité spécifiques avant d'être publiés sur le site Web public.

Dates principales de l'étude

Début de l'étude (Estimé)

20 mai 2026

Achèvement primaire (Estimé)

25 août 2026

Achèvement de l'étude (Estimé)

2 septembre 2026

Dates d'inscription aux études

Première soumission

27 avril 2026

Première soumission répondant aux critères de contrôle qualité

27 avril 2026

Première publication (Réel)

4 mai 2026

Mises à jour des dossiers d'étude

Dernière mise à jour publiée (Réel)

4 mai 2026

Dernière mise à jour soumise répondant aux critères de contrôle qualité

27 avril 2026

Dernière vérification

1 avril 2026

Plus d'information

Termes liés à cette étude

Mots clés

Termes MeSH pertinents supplémentaires

Autres numéros d'identification d'étude

  • GCUF.FS.TPS

Plan pour les données individuelles des participants (IPD)

Prévoyez-vous de partager les données individuelles des participants (DPI) ?

NON

Informations sur les médicaments et les dispositifs, documents d'étude

Étudie un produit pharmaceutique réglementé par la FDA américaine

Non

Étudie un produit d'appareil réglementé par la FDA américaine

Non

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