The present study examines the efficacy of CMI in reducing adolescent IGD symptoms and enhancing social support given by CSOs among adolescents with high risk of IGD (probable IGD cases screened positive by validated tools). It is hypothesized that the intervention group (with CMI plus IGD education materials for both the clients and his/her selected CSO) would show more improvements in reduction in the severity of IGD, motivation to change maladaptive gaming behaviour, craving on gaming, and social support obtained from CSOs than to the control group (only educational materials for both the client and the CSOs).
This study adopts a randomized controlled efficacy study with an open-label parallel-group design. The trial will be registered by the WHO's International Clinical Trials Registry Platform once the project is approved. Research participants will be recruited from the primary and secondary schools, and youth social services. After completing the screening process, research participants who are confirmed to fit the inclusion criteria will be randomly assigned to the intervention group with CMI intervention plus IGD education materials to both adolescents with IGD and their CSO or the control group with IGD education materials alone. The present study sets four-time points to track the change in the between-group difference of the primary and secondary outcomes from the baseline (T0) to post-intervention (T1), 3-month follow-up (T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3).
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
172
The participants in the intervention group will receive IGD educational materials as well as four counseling sessions of CMI intervention.
The participants in the control group will receive IGD educational materials.
Hong Kong College of Technology
Shatin, Hong Kong
Severity of IGD
The nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) are used to detect the change in the severity of IGD. It is the first brief standardized psychometric tool of IGD based on the nine DSM-5 IGD criteria. This instrument has been translated into 15 languages and is widely used in research and clinical settings. In addition, a validated Chinese version with satisfactory psychometric properties is available (Qin et al., 2020). The items were rated by using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Never to 5 = Very often).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Severity of IGD at posttest (T1: After intervention)
Severity of IGD
The nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) are used to detect the change in the severity of IGD. It is the first brief standardized psychometric tool of IGD based on the nine DSM-5 IGD criteria. This instrument has been translated into 15 languages and is widely used in research and clinical settings. In addition, a validated Chinese version with satisfactory psychometric properties is available (Qin et al., 2020). The items were rated by using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Never to 5 = Very often).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Severity of IGD at 3-month follow-up (T2)
Severity of IGD
The nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) are used to detect the change in the severity of IGD. It is the first brief standardized psychometric tool of IGD based on the nine DSM-5 IGD criteria. This instrument has been translated into 15 languages and is widely used in research and clinical settings. In addition, a validated Chinese version with satisfactory psychometric properties is available (Qin et al., 2020). The items were rated by using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Never to 5 = Very often).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Severity of IGD at 6-month follow-up (T3)
Motivation to change maladaptive gaming behaviour
Contemplation Ladder for Internet Gaming (CL-LG), which is derived from the Contemplation Ladder measure the motivation to quit smoking (Biener \& Abrams, 1991), are employed. Contemplation Ladder for drug use problems is commonly used in clinical settings and research in Hong Kong (Siu et al., 2018). The instrument measures the motivation to abstain from maladaptive gaming behaviors based on a single brief option of 11 rungs and five types of statements. The instrument is rated on a scale from 0 to 10, with each point representing a specific statement showing a corresponding stage of change. The ladder has been used in smoking cessation studies, which displayed strong reliability and validity with strong intercorrelations (Pearson's r = .82 - .98) (Rustin \& Tate, 1993).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Motivation to change maladaptive gaming behaviour at posttest (T1: After intervention)
Motivation to change maladaptive gaming behaviour
Contemplation Ladder for Internet Gaming (CL-LG), which is derived from the Contemplation Ladder measure the motivation to quit smoking (Biener \& Abrams, 1991), are employed. Contemplation Ladder for drug use problems is commonly used in clinical settings and research in Hong Kong (Siu et al., 2018). The instrument measures the motivation to abstain from maladaptive gaming behaviors based on a single brief option of 11 rungs and five types of statements. The instrument is rated on a scale from 0 to 10, with each point representing a specific statement showing a corresponding stage of change. The ladder has been used in smoking cessation studies, which displayed strong reliability and validity with strong intercorrelations (Pearson's r = .82 - .98) (Rustin \& Tate, 1993).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Motivation to change maladaptive gaming behaviour at 3-month follow-up (T2)
Motivation to change maladaptive gaming behaviour
Contemplation Ladder for Internet Gaming (CL-LG), which is derived from the Contemplation Ladder measure the motivation to quit smoking (Biener \& Abrams, 1991), are employed. Contemplation Ladder for drug use problems is commonly used in clinical settings and research in Hong Kong (Siu et al., 2018). The instrument measures the motivation to abstain from maladaptive gaming behaviors based on a single brief option of 11 rungs and five types of statements. The instrument is rated on a scale from 0 to 10, with each point representing a specific statement showing a corresponding stage of change. The ladder has been used in smoking cessation studies, which displayed strong reliability and validity with strong intercorrelations (Pearson's r = .82 - .98) (Rustin \& Tate, 1993).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Motivation to change maladaptive gaming behaviour at 6-month follow-up (T3)
Craving for Internet Gaming
Craving for Internet Gaming Scale (CIGS) is used to measure respondents' intensity, frequency, duration of their craving, and capability to resist acting on their craving for a particular period of time. It comprises five-item, scoring from 0 to 6 for each item. Respondents with higher scores tend to have higher levels of gaming craving (Cronbach's alpha was .88-.91) (Savci \& Griffiths, 2019).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Craving for Internet Gaming at posttest (T1: After intervention)
Craving for Internet Gaming
Craving for Internet Gaming Scale (CIGS) is used to measure respondents' intensity, frequency, duration of their craving, and capability to resist acting on their craving for a particular period of time. It comprises five-item, scoring from 0 to 6 for each item. Respondents with higher scores tend to have higher levels of gaming craving (Cronbach's alpha was .88-.91) (Savci \& Griffiths, 2019).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Craving for Internet Gaming at 3-month follow-up (T2)
Craving for Internet Gaming
Craving for Internet Gaming Scale (CIGS) is used to measure respondents' intensity, frequency, duration of their craving, and capability to resist acting on their craving for a particular period of time. It comprises five-item, scoring from 0 to 6 for each item. Respondents with higher scores tend to have higher levels of gaming craving (Cronbach's alpha was .88-.91) (Savci \& Griffiths, 2019).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Craving for Internet Gaming at 6-month follow-up (T3)
Social support from CSO
The 4-item significant other subscales of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) will be used. It is a self-reporting instrument designed for assessing the level of perceived social support from significant others. The items are scored on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 7 (very strongly agree). The Cantonese version has demonstrated a high internal consistency coefficient with a Cronbach's alpha of .89 (Chou, 2000).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Social support from CSO at posttest (T1: After intervention)
Social support from CSO
The 4-item significant other subscales of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) will be used. It is a self-reporting instrument designed for assessing the level of perceived social support from significant others. The items are scored on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 7 (very strongly agree). The Cantonese version has demonstrated a high internal consistency coefficient with a Cronbach's alpha of .89 (Chou, 2000).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Social support from CSO at 3-month follow-up (T2)
Social support from CSO
The 4-item significant other subscales of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) will be used. It is a self-reporting instrument designed for assessing the level of perceived social support from significant others. The items are scored on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 7 (very strongly agree). The Cantonese version has demonstrated a high internal consistency coefficient with a Cronbach's alpha of .89 (Chou, 2000).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Social support from CSO at 6-month follow-up (T3)
Child-Parent Relationship
The Child-Parent Relationship Scale (C-PRS). The items are scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 5 (very strongly agree).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Child-Parent Relationship at posttest (T1: After intervention)
Child-Parent Relationship
The Child-Parent Relationship Scale (C-PRS). The items are scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 5 (very strongly agree).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Child-Parent Relationship at 3-month follow-up (T2)
Child-Parent Relationship
The Child-Parent Relationship Scale (C-PRS). The items are scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 5 (very strongly agree).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Child-Parent Relationship at 6-month follow-up (T3)
Parental Stress
The 17-items Parental Stress Scale (PSS). The items are scored on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 6 (very strongly agree).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Parental Stress at posttest (T1: After intervention)
Parental Stress
The 17-items Parental Stress Scale (PSS). The items are scored on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 6 (very strongly agree).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Parental Stress at 3-month follow-up (T2)
Parental Stress
The 17-items Parental Stress Scale (PSS). The items are scored on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 6 (very strongly agree).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Parental Stress at 6-month follow-up (T3)
Motivation for treatment
The 8-item Motivation for Youth's Treatment Scale (MYTS). The items are scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 5 (very strongly agree).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Motivation for treatment at posttest (T1: After intervention)
Motivation for treatment
The 8-item Motivation for Youth's Treatment Scale (MYTS). The items are scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 5 (very strongly agree).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Motivation for treatment at 3-month follow-up (T2)
Motivation for treatment
The 8-item Motivation for Youth's Treatment Scale (MYTS). The items are scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 5 (very strongly agree).
Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) Motivation for treatment at 6-month follow-up (T3)
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.