Breaking the Cycle of Social Media Addiction: Efficacy of a 4-STEP Training Program in Reducing Cognitive Fatigue, Psychological Distress, Academic Procrastination, and Burnout Among Adolescents (4-STEP)
10 de setembro de 2026 atualizado por: Qasir Abbas, Government College University Faisalabad
Breaking the Cycle of Social Media Addiction: Efficacy of a 4-STEP Training Program in Reducing Cognitive Fatigue, Psychological Distress, Academic Procrastination, and Burnout Among Adolescents - A Randomized Controlled 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, cognitive fatigue, psychological distress, academic burnout, and procrastination among university students.
The study aims to promote healthier digital habits, psychological well-being, and improved academic 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.
Visão geral do estudo
Status
Ainda não está recrutando
Condições
Intervenção / Tratamento
Descrição detalhada
In this research, a sample of approximately N = 200 school students will initially be approached for eligibility screening. Participants will be aged between 13 and 18 years and will be currently enrolled in a school. Participants with a minimum score of 84 on the Social Media Addiction Scale will be eligible for inclusion. Students with a history of severe physical illness, psychiatric or psychological disorders, or psychotic illness will be excluded. After eligibility assessment and screening, N = 40 participants will be selected and randomly allocated to an experimental group (n = 20) and a waitlist control group (n = 20).
The 4-Step Training Program will be delivered over four weeks, with one session per week. The program focuses on psychoeducation, treatment conceptualization and planning, effective management strategies, self-regulation, and relapse prevention. The study will assess changes in social media addiction, cognitive fatigue, psychological distress, academic burnout, and procrastination from pre-intervention to post-intervention.
The study is expected to provide evidence regarding the effectiveness of a structured intervention for managing social media addiction among university students. The 4-Step Training Program is anticipated to reduce social media addiction, cognitive fatigue, and psychological distress. Furthermore, the intervention is expected to improve academic functioning by reducing academic burnout and procrastination, while promoting healthier digital habits, better self-regulation, psychological well-being, and overall academic productivity.
Tipo de estudo
Intervencional
Inscrição (Estimado)
200
Estágio
- Não aplicável
Contactos e Locais
Esta seção fornece os detalhes de contato para aqueles que conduzem o estudo e informações sobre onde este estudo está sendo realizado.
Contato de estudo
- Nome: Qasir Abbas QAbbas Associated Professor, Phd, Clinical Psychology
- Número de telefone: 923337683133
- E-mail: qasirabbas47@yahoo.com
Estude backup de contato
- Nome: Ujala MS scholar, MS Clinical Psychology
- Número de telefone: 03294260921
- E-mail: ujalarauf1214@gmail.com
Locais de estudo
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Punjab Province
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Faisalabad, Punjab Province, Paquistão, 3800
- Government College University Faisalabad
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Contato:
- Qasir QAbbas Abbas, Associate Professor, Phd, Clinical Psychology
- Número de telefone: 923337683133
- E-mail: qasirabbas47@yahoo.com
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Critérios de participação
Os pesquisadores procuram pessoas que se encaixem em uma determinada descrição, chamada de critérios de elegibilidade. Alguns exemplos desses critérios são a condição geral de saúde de uma pessoa ou tratamentos anteriores.
Critérios de elegibilidade
Idades elegíveis para estudo
- Filho
- Adulto
Aceita Voluntários Saudáveis
Sim
Descrição
Inclusion Criteria: Participants aged 13-18 years. Participants with a minimum score of 84 on the Social Media Addiction Scale. Exclusion Criteria:1) Participants below 13 years or above 18 years of age. Participants with any diagnosed psychiatric disorder or mental health condition.
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Plano de estudo
Esta seção fornece detalhes do plano de estudo, incluindo como o estudo é projetado e o que o estudo está medindo.
Como o estudo é projetado?
Detalhes do projeto
- Finalidade Principal: Tratamento
- Alocação: Randomizado
- Modelo Intervencional: Atribuição Paralela
- Mascaramento: Nenhum (rótulo aberto)
Armas e Intervenções
Grupo de Participantes / Braço |
Intervenção / Tratamento |
|---|---|
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Sem intervenção: Grupo de controle
Sem tratamento
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Experimental: Experimental: Experimental Group: Individual Setting 4-STEP-Training Program in 1-1 Setting
Behavioral: 4-STEP-Training Program for Social Media Addiction (4-STEP-TPS) 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
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Four-step training program designed to reduce social media addiction and related psychological/academic difficulties among students.
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O que o estudo está medindo?
Medidas de resultados primários
Medida de resultado |
Descrição da medida |
Prazo |
|---|---|---|
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Social Networking Addiction Scale
Prazo: After 4 weeks and reassessment up to 6 months]
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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 15-17), and relapse (items 18-21) (Shahnawaz & Rehman, 2020).
The SNAS is a self-reported scale which entails 21-items scale rated on 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).
The score can range from 21 to 147.
Any score above a total score of 84 signifies addiction.
The scale has demonstrated good test-retest reliability of 0.88 and good validity as reported by Shahnawaz and Rehman (2020).
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After 4 weeks and reassessment up to 6 months]
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Multidimensional Fatigue Scale ( MFS)
Prazo: after 4 weeks, and reassessment up to 6 months
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The scale was designed to assess fatigue-related experiences among children and adolescents across multiple domains of functioning.
The PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale consists of 18 items divided into three subscales: General Fatigue, Sleep/Rest Fatigue and Cognitive Fatigue with each subscale comprising six items.
The instrument uses a 5-point Likert-scale response format which range from (0=Never to 4=Almost Always) with participants indicating how frequently they experienced each fatigue-related symptom during the past month.
Lower scores on the Multidimentional Fatigue Scale items indicated greater levels of cognitive fatigue among the participants (Varni, n.d.).
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after 4 weeks, and reassessment up to 6 months
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Tuckman Procrastination Scale
Prazo: at screening after 4 weekds, and reassessment up to 6 months]
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The scale was developed to assess individual's tendencies to delay, postpone or avoid completing tasks and responsibilities.
Since its development the TPS has been widely used to examine procrastination in educational settings among adolescent and student populations.
The scale consists of 16 items and employs a 4-point Likert-scale response format ranging from (1=That is not me for sure, to 4=That is me for sure).
Participants are asked to indicate the extent to which each statement describes their typical behavior.
Higher scores on the scale indicate a greater tendency toward procrastination.
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at screening after 4 weekds, and reassessment up to 6 months]
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School Burnout Inventory
Prazo: At screening, after 4 weeks and reassessment upto 6 months
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School Burnout Inventory (SBI-9) 2009a).
The instrument was designed to assess school-related burnout among adolescents and has been widely used in educational and psychological research to evaluate students' experiences of exhaustion and disengagement related to academic demands.
In the present study, the School Burnout Inventory was administered to measure academic burnout among adolescent school students.
The instrument was considered appropriate because it captures the multidimensional nature of burnout within the school context and has demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties among adolescent populations.
Scores on all items were summed to obtain an overall measure of academic burnout with higher scores reflecting greater levels of burnout.
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At screening, after 4 weeks and reassessment upto 6 months
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Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21
Prazo: At screening, after 4 weeks and reassessment upto 6 months
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Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21).
The DASS-21 and has been widely used in both clinical and non-clinical populations (S.
H. Lovibond & Lovibond, 2011).
The scale consists of 21 items distributed across three subscales: Depression, Anxiety and Stress with each subscale comprising seven items.
The instrument employs a 4-point Likert-type response format ranging from (0=Never to 3=Always).
Participants are asked to indicate the extent to which each statement applied to them during the previous week.
In the present study the Urdu version of the DASS-21 was administered to measure psychological distress among adolescent school students.
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At screening, after 4 weeks and reassessment upto 6 months
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Colaboradores e Investigadores
É aqui que você encontrará pessoas e organizações envolvidas com este estudo.
Patrocinador
Investigadores
- Investigador principal: Qasir Abbas QAbbas Abbas, Phd, Clinical Psychology, Government College University Faisalabad
Datas de registro do estudo
Essas datas acompanham o progresso do registro do estudo e os envios de resumo dos resultados para ClinicalTrials.gov. Os registros do estudo e os resultados relatados são revisados pela National Library of Medicine (NLM) para garantir que atendam aos padrões específicos de controle de qualidade antes de serem publicados no site público.
Datas Principais do Estudo
Início do estudo (Estimado)
15 de setembro de 2026
Conclusão Primária (Estimado)
15 de novembro de 2026
Conclusão do estudo (Estimado)
30 de novembro de 2026
Datas de inscrição no estudo
Enviado pela primeira vez
10 de setembro de 2026
Enviado pela primeira vez que atendeu aos critérios de CQ
10 de setembro de 2026
Primeira postagem (Real)
15 de setembro de 2026
Atualizações de registro de estudo
Última Atualização Postada (Real)
15 de setembro de 2026
Última atualização enviada que atendeu aos critérios de controle de qualidade
10 de setembro de 2026
Última verificação
1 de setembro de 2026
Mais Informações
Termos relacionados a este estudo
Palavras-chave
Termos MeSH relevantes adicionais
Outros números de identificação do estudo
- GCUF_4STEP-TPS-2026
Plano para dados de participantes individuais (IPD)
Planeja compartilhar dados de participantes individuais (IPD)?
NÃO
Informações sobre medicamentos e dispositivos, documentos de estudo
Estuda um medicamento regulamentado pela FDA dos EUA
Não
Estuda um produto de dispositivo regulamentado pela FDA dos EUA
Não
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