Mindfulness-based therapy for adolescent internet gaming disorder: A feasibility and pilot study

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) is prevalent in adolescents and is treatable. Mindfulness-based therapy can benefit addictive behaviors, craving, and emotion regulation. However, evidence on its effectiveness in treating IGD is still lacking. This study aims to test its feasibility and effectiveness in adolescents with IGD. In total, 23 secondary school students finished the 4-week group-based intervention. At posttest, participants reported significantly lower levels of IGD symptoms (mean difference=1.13), craving (mean difference=0.38), and higher levels of emotion regulation (mean difference=-6.91) compared with pre-test. In general, participants rated the intervention positively. The response summary to the open-ended question indicated that participants favored the in-session mindfulness exercises. Suggestions to improve the intervention design were also provided. The current intervention is low cost and time-efficient with high completion rates and acceptability in adolescents with IGD. Future work may further adopt randomized control trial designs and explore the long-term effects of mindfulness-based interventions for IGD.