4-STEP-Training Program for Doomscrolling, Cyberchondriac Behavior and Psychiatric Symptoms (4-STEP-TPS) Among Individuals With Social Media Addiction ((4-STEP-TPS))
17 juni 2026 bijgewerkt door: Qasir Abbas, Government College University Faisalabad
Effectiveness of 4-Step Training Program for Doomscrolling, Cyberchondriac Behavior and Psychiatric Symptoms Among Individuals With Social Media Addiction: A Randomized Trial
The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of the 4-Step Training Program for Social Media Addiction (4-STEP-TPS) in reducing social media addiction, doomscrolling, cyberchondriac behavior, depressive symptoms, and health anxiety among young adults.
The study aims to promote healthier digital habits, psychological well-being, and improved daily functioning.
Participants with elevated social media addiction will complete a 4-week intervention with one session per week.
They will be randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a waitlist control group.
Pre- and post-intervention assessments will be conducted to determine the program's effectiveness.
Studie Overzicht
Toestand
Nog niet aan het werven
Interventie / Behandeling
Gedetailleerde beschrijving
In this research, a sample of approximately N = 300 young adults will be initially enrolled for eligibility screening from public and private universities in Faisalabad and Sahiwal, Pakistan, using purposive sampling techniques. Participants will be aged between 18 and 28 years and will have no history of severe physical, psychiatric, or psychological disorders. After eligibility assessment and screening based on standardized measures, N = 80 participants will be selected and randomly allocated to the experimental and waitlist control groups.
This study is expected to provide valuable evidence for mental health practitioners regarding effective interventions for managing social media addiction among young adults. The 4-STEP Training Program is anticipated to enhance participants' awareness and understanding of problematic digital behaviors, including doomscrolling and cyberchondriac behavior. The intervention is also expected to reduce depressive symptoms and health anxiety, improve self-regulation and promote healthier digital habits. Furthermore, the program is expected to enhance psychological well-being, academic functioning, and overall productivity while significantly reducing levels of social media addiction.
Studietype
Ingrijpend
Inschrijving (Geschat)
80
Fase
- Niet toepasbaar
Contacten en locaties
In dit gedeelte vindt u de contactgegevens van degenen die het onderzoek uitvoeren en informatie over waar dit onderzoek wordt uitgevoerd.
Studiecontact
- Naam: Qasir Abbas, PhD Clinical Psychology
- Telefoonnummer: 923337683133
- E-mail: qasirabbas47@yahoo.com
Studie Contact Back-up
- Naam: Atika Shafi, MS Clinical Psychology
Studie Locaties
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Punjab Province
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Faisalabad, Punjab Province, Pakistan, 38000
- Government College University Faisalabad
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Contact:
- Qasir Abbas, PhD Clinical Psychology
- Telefoonnummer: 923337683133
- E-mail: qasirabbas47@yahoo.com
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Deelname Criteria
Onderzoekers zoeken naar mensen die aan een bepaalde beschrijving voldoen, de zogenaamde geschiktheidscriteria. Enkele voorbeelden van deze criteria zijn iemands algemene gezondheidstoestand of eerdere behandelingen.
Geschiktheidscriteria
Leeftijden die in aanmerking komen voor studie
- Volwassen
Accepteert gezonde vrijwilligers
Ja
Beschrijving
Inclusion Criteria:
- Age range: 18-29 years
- No physical, psychiatric, or psychological conditions
- Minimum score of 84 on the Social Networking Addiction Scale (SNAS)
- Minimum score of 23 on the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-12)
Exclusion Criteria:
- Age below 18 or above 29 years
- Presence of any physical, psychiatric, or psychological conditions
- Score below 84 on the Social Networking Addiction Scale (SNAS)
- Score below 23 on the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-12)
Studie plan
Dit gedeelte bevat details van het studieplan, inclusief hoe de studie is opgezet en wat de studie meet.
Hoe is de studie opgezet?
Ontwerpdetails
- Primair doel: Behandeling
- Toewijzing: Gerandomiseerd
- Interventioneel model: Parallelle opdracht
- Masker: Geen (open label)
Wapens en interventies
Deelnemersgroep / Arm |
Interventie / Behandeling |
|---|---|
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Geen tussenkomst: Controlegroep
Geen tussenkomst
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Experimenteel: Experimentele groep: individuele setting
4-STEP-Trainingsprogramma in 1-1-instelling
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4 Modules with 1 Module being delivered in 1 weekly session of approximately 90 minutes.
The details of each module/step is described as follows: Step 1 (Module 1): S = Screening, Assessment and Psychoeducation: Involves screening and assessment of the problem, interpretation of the results, feedback and psychoeducation, identifying and breaking the resistance, motivation, and conceptualization.
Step 2 (Module 2): T = Treatment Conceptualization and Planning: Involves pattern identification, distortion identification, as well as pattern and distortions modifications.
Step 3 (Module 3): E = Effective Management Strategies: Involves management strategies to treat the earlier identified patterns as well as the implementation and confirmation of activities via a Pattern Schedule Chart.
Step 4 (Module 4): P = Prevention (Lapse-Relapse): Involves self-reflection and support building, monitoring and dependency check and slip plans and support additions
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Wat meet het onderzoek?
Primaire uitkomstmaten
Uitkomstmaat |
Maatregel Beschrijving |
Tijdsspanne |
|---|---|---|
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Sociale netwerkverslavingsschaal (SNAS)
Tijdsspanne: Bij screening, na 4 weken, en herbeoordeling maximaal 6 maanden
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De Social Networking Addiction Scale (SNAS) is ontwikkeld om de verslaving aan alle vormen van sociale netwerken te meten in zes dimensies: saillantie (items 1-4), stemmingsverandering (items 5-7), tolerantie (items 8-10), terugtrekking (items 1-4). items 11-14), conflict (item 15-17) en terugval (items 18-21) (Shahnawaz & Rehman, 2020).
De SNAS is een zelfgerapporteerde schaal die bestaat uit een schaal van 21 items, beoordeeld op een 7-punts Likert-schaal, variërend van 1 (helemaal niet mee eens) tot 7 (helemaal mee eens).
De score kan variëren van 21 tot 147.
Elke score boven een totaalscore van 84 duidt op verslaving.
De schaal heeft een goede test-hertestbetrouwbaarheid van 0,88 en een goede validiteit laten zien, zoals gerapporteerd door Shahnawaz en Rehman (2020).
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Bij screening, na 4 weken, en herbeoordeling maximaal 6 maanden
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Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-12)
Tijdsspanne: At screening, after 4 weeks, and reassessment up to 6 months
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The Cyberchondria Severity Scale-12 (CSS-12), developed by Eoin McElroy et al. (2019), is a 12-item self-report measure assessing excessive, anxiety-provoking online health searches across four dimensions: compulsion, distress, excessiveness, and reassurance-seeking.
Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Never to 5 = Always), with total scores ranging from 12-60; higher scores indicate greater cyberchondria.
The scale is brief, reliable, and valid, suitable for both clinical and non-clinical populations, and widely used to evaluate problematic health-related online behavior.
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At screening, after 4 weeks, and reassessment up to 6 months
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Doomscrolling Scale (DS)
Tijdsspanne: At screening, after 4 weeks, and reassessment up to 6 months
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The Doomscrolling Scale was developed to assess compulsive engagement with negative online news content and excessive scrolling behavior, particularly during times of crisis (Sharma et al., 2022).
The scale measures three core dimensions: obsessive news consumption, emotional distress, and behavioral compulsion.
It is a self-report instrument consisting of 15 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always).
The total score is calculated by summing all item responses, with higher scores indicating greater levels of doomscrolling behavior.
The scale has demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.88) and satisfactory construct validity (Sharma et al., 2022).
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At screening, after 4 weeks, and reassessment up to 6 months
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Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI)
Tijdsspanne: At screening, after 4 weeks, and reassessment up to 6 months
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The Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI) was developed to assess health-related anxiety and preoccupation with physical symptoms, independent of actual medical status (Salkovskis et al., 2002).
The scale measures two main dimensions: perceived likelihood of illness and perceived negative consequences of illness.
It is a self-report instrument consisting of 18 items, each presenting four response options scored from 0 to 3, reflecting increasing levels of health anxiety.
Total scores range from 0 to 54, with higher scores indicating greater levels of health anxiety.
The SHAI has demonstrated excellent internal consistency, with reported Cronbach's alpha values ranging from 0.86 to 0.95, and strong convergent and construct validity.
The HAI is a reliable and valid measure of health anxiety (Salkovskis et al., 2002).
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At screening, after 4 weeks, and reassessment up to 6 months
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Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
Tijdsspanne: At screening, after 4 weeks, and reassessment up to 6 months
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The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was developed to measure the severity of depressive symptoms based on the diagnostic criteria of major depressive disorder (Kroenke et al., 2001).
The scale assesses nine core symptoms of depression, including low mood, loss of interest, fatigue, sleep disturbances, appetite changes, concentration difficulties, feelings of worthlessness, psychomotor changes, and suicidal ideation.
The PHQ-9 is a self-report instrument consisting of 9 items rated on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day).
Total scores range from 0 to 27, with higher scores indicating greater severity of depressive symptoms.
The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is a self-administered version of the PRIME-MD diagnostic instrument for common mental disorders(The PHQ-9 - Kroenke - 2001 - Journal of General Internal Medicine - Wiley Online Library, 2001).
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At screening, after 4 weeks, and reassessment up to 6 months
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Medewerkers en onderzoekers
Hier vindt u mensen en organisaties die betrokken zijn bij dit onderzoek.
Onderzoekers
- Hoofdonderzoeker: Qasir Abbas, PhD Clinical Psychology, Government College University Faisalabad
Studie record data
Deze datums volgen de voortgang van het onderzoeksdossier en de samenvatting van de ingediende resultaten bij ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieverslagen en gerapporteerde resultaten worden beoordeeld door de National Library of Medicine (NLM) om er zeker van te zijn dat ze voldoen aan specifieke kwaliteitscontrolenormen voordat ze op de openbare website worden geplaatst.
Bestudeer belangrijke data
Studie start (Geschat)
5 juli 2026
Primaire voltooiing (Geschat)
10 september 2026
Studie voltooiing (Geschat)
30 september 2026
Studieregistratiedata
Eerst ingediend
17 juni 2026
Eerst ingediend dat voldeed aan de QC-criteria
17 juni 2026
Eerst geplaatst (Werkelijk)
23 juni 2026
Updates van studierecords
Laatste update geplaatst (Werkelijk)
23 juni 2026
Laatste update ingediend die voldeed aan QC-criteria
17 juni 2026
Laatst geverifieerd
1 februari 2026
Meer informatie
Termen gerelateerd aan deze studie
Trefwoorden
Aanvullende relevante MeSH-voorwaarden
Andere studie-ID-nummers
- GCUF_CT_STP
Plan Individuele Deelnemersgegevens (IPD)
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NEE
Informatie over medicijnen en apparaten, studiedocumenten
Bestudeert een door de Amerikaanse FDA gereguleerd geneesmiddel
Nee
Bestudeert een door de Amerikaanse FDA gereguleerd apparaatproduct
Nee
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