A day of group therapy didn't clearly help students put things off less
Who it’s about: Students
- No difference
A day of group therapy on thoughts and problems worked no better for putting things off than a plain course.
- Action: Solve problems step by steptested
- Action: Challenge unhelpful thoughtstested
- Rule: Practise with a groupused
- Rule: In a single sessionused
Small randomised trial of 43 Chinese students with high internet addiction scores · vs a training course on internet addiction · they rated themselves · ⚠ summary claims more than the results show
The study
Who took part
44 Chinese college students in their second year or later who scored high on an internet addiction questionnaire. They were split into two groups of 22, and 43 were counted at the end.
What they did
One group had five 90-minute group sessions on one weekend day, based on therapy that challenges unhelpful thoughts. In one session the group chose putting things off as a shared problem and worked on solutions together. The other group got a training course on internet addiction.
What happened
At the end, the therapy group rated themselves as putting things off a little less. But the difference was too small to be sure it was real. The paper's conclusions say the therapy cut putting things off, which is stronger than its results show. The start scores for putting things off are missing from the paper.
Source
Impact of Short-Term Intensive-Type Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Intervention on Internet Addiction among Chinese College Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial (2022)
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19095212 (opens in a new tab)Tools in this study
Action2
Solve problems step by stepStructured problem solving: define, list options, choose, try, review.
Action5
Challenge unhelpful thoughtsCognitive restructuring of beliefs such as perfectionism or catastrophising.
