Effectiveness of a Brief Group Intervention Program for Young Adults with Gaming-Related Problems
Open accessAbstract
Excessive digital gaming can have unfavorable effects on gamers’ well-being and everyday functioning. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of a novel group intervention “Limitless Gaming Bootcamp” on (i) gaming disorder (GD) tendencies, (ii) the amount of time spent on leisure activities, and (iii) subjective well-being among Finnish young adults, and to determine the persistence of the intervention’s influence over time. A one-group pre- and post-test design with no control group was used. Thirty-seven participants were enrolled in the study. The inclusion criteria were being between the ages of 18 and 29; self-reported excessive gaming; a willingness to get support in monitoring one’s gaming behaviour; and a fluency in Finnish. Participants completed a 10-session group intervention designed to enhance conscious gaming behavior and well-being. Baseline, post-test, and six month follow-up measurements were conducted to gather data. Variables measured included background variables, gaming disorder tendencies (Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire, POGQ), self-reported time spent on various leisure activities, and subjective well-being (Short Form of the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation Outcome Measure, CORE-SF/A). The time spent on gaming decreased from pre- to post-intervention measurement and further to the six month follow-up, and participants exhibited less severe GD symptoms during the post-intervention phase and six months after the intervention. Gradual improvements in subjective well-being were also observed. The group intervention was found to be particularly effective at reducing the severity of GD symptoms.
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Other approaches that have been tested in clinical trials for gaming disorder include motivational interviewing and counseling, family therapy, and psychosocial rehabilitation.
“Other approaches that have been tested in clinical trials include motivational interviewing and counseling, family therapy, and psychosocial rehabilitation 204,216 .”
From Emerging experience with selected new categories in the <scp>ICD</scp>‐11: complex <scp>PTSD</scp>, prolonged grief disorder, gaming disorder, and compulsive sexual behaviour disorder (2022) · cites this paper as [216]
The paper’s background discussion (indexed under Abstract; page unavailable) reports a systematic review covering family-based interventions and psychological or counseling programs for gaming disorder and Internet addiction. It does not identify motivational interviewing or psychosocial rehabilitation among those approaches, or establish that each listed approach was tested in a clinical trial. (LLM, conf=0.83)
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- Authors
- Männikkö, N., Mustonen, T., Tanner, N., Vähänikkilä, H., & Kääriäinen, M.
- Affiliations
- Oulu University of Applied Sciences (FI)
- University of Oulu (FI)
- Oulu University Hospital (FI)
- Corresponding author
- Männikkö, Niko
- Venue
- International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
- Published
- 2021-06-14
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 2956-2972
- ISSN
- 1557-1874 (ISSN-L)
- 1557-1882
- OpenAlex
- W3170142249
- Cited by
- 10
- References
- 65
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 2.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Juho Vainio Foundation (no)
- Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations (C 2822, 2017)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Gambling Behavior and Treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Keywords
- gaming disorder, group intervention, young adults, subjective well-being, leisure, intervention effectiveness, follow-up outcomes, Finnish language
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