School group sessions helped teens at risk of gaming problems put things off less
Who it’s about: Children, Students
- Helped
Over a year, teens who had four school group sessions put things off less than teens who only did questionnaires.
- Action: Learn how the problem workstested
- Action: Challenge unhelpful thoughtstested
- Rule: Practise with a groupused
- Rule: With a coach or therapistused
Randomised trial of 422 German teens at risk of gaming problems · vs students who only filled in questionnaires · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole groups were assigned, not people
The study
Who took part
422 high-school students in Germany from 33 schools, about 15 on average and about half girls. They were at moderate or high risk of problems with gaming or the internet.
What they did
167 students went to four 90-minute group sessions at school, led by two psychologists. The sessions used therapy that challenges unhelpful thoughts. They covered boredom, motivation, putting things off, test worry and social worry. The other 255 students only filled in questionnaires.
What happened
Over 12 months, the session group's putting things off dropped more than the questionnaire-only group's. The paper doesn't give a size for this difference. Putting things off wasn't the study's main question, which was about gaming problems.
Source
Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy–Based Intervention in Preventing Gaming Disorder and Unspecified Internet Use Disorder in Adolescents (2022)
DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.48995 (opens in a new tab)Tools in this study
Action4
Learn how the problem worksPsychoeducation about procrastination, habits, sleep, routines or ADHD.
Action5
Challenge unhelpful thoughtsCognitive restructuring of beliefs such as perfectionism or catastrophising.
