Clinical trial NCT03220581: A Psychotherapy Development Study for Internet Gaming
Official title: A Psychotherapy Development Study for a New Addictive Disorder
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Internet Gaming Disorder
Lead sponsor: UConn Health
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
First posted: 2017-07-18
Enrollment: 60
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 10
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) introduces Internet Gaming disorder (IGD) as a Substance-Related and Addictive Disorder in Section 3, Conditions for Further Study. Although research is in the nascent stages, existing studies demonstrate that IGD is associated with psychosocial distress including suicidality, and adverse vocational and educational outcomes in youth. Internet gaming disorder also shares substantial overlap with substance use, and it primarily affects adolescents, who rarely seek treatment on their own. Parents more often express concerns about their child's game playing behaviors, and data suggest that parents can have strong influences on it. This psychotherapy development study will evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and effect sizes of a behavioral intervention designed to help parents reduce gaming problems in their children. Sixty concerned parents and their children will complete parental and self-report inventories and structured diagnostic interviews regarding the child's gaming behaviors, substance use and psychosocial functioning. Participants will be randomized to either a control condition consisting of referral for mental health issues and family support services or to the same plus a 6-week family-based behavioral intervention designed to assist with better monitoring and regulating the child's game playing behaviors and encouraging and rewarding alternatives to game playing. Gaming and other problems will be assessed pre-treatment, mid-treatment, at the end of treatment, and at a 4-month follow-up. This study is unique in evaluating initial psychometric properties of a parental version of a measure that uses the DSM-5 criteria for IGD in a clinical sample, and it will also assess associations of IGD with substance use, psychological symptoms, and family functioning over time. Most importantly, this study will be the first randomized trial of an intervention designed to reduce gambling problems, and results are likely to guide future research and treatment efforts related to this condition.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* parent/guardian of a 10-19 year old residing in the same household \>8 months/year
* reports significant problems with game playing

Exclusion Criteria:

* have a condition that may hinder study participation

Primary outcomes:
measure: Percentage of Participants Who Completed All 6 Sessions
timeFrame: 12 weeks
measure: Number of Days of Gaming in Past Week - Reported by Child
timeFrame: 12 weeks
measure: Number of Days of Gaming in the Past Week - Reported by Parent
timeFrame: 12 weeks
measure: Number of Symptoms of Internet Gaming Disorder - Assessed Through a Clinical Interview With Child
timeFrame: 12 weeks
measure: Number of Symptoms of Internet Gaming Disorder - Assessed Through a Clinical Interview With Parent
timeFrame: 12 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Farmington
country: United States
facility: UConn Health
state: Connecticut
Study officials:
affiliation: UConn Health
name: Kristyn Zajac, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: