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. 2021 Jan-Mar;43(1):47-56.
doi: 10.47626/2237-6089-2020-0010.

The effects of cognitive-behavioral group therapy for reducing symptoms of internet addiction disorder and promoting quality of life and mental health

Seyyed Salman Alavi  1 , Maryam Ghanizadeh  2 , Mohammad Reza Mohammadi  1 , Fereshteh Jannatifard  3 , Sudeh Esmaili Alamuti  4 , Malihe Farahani  1
Affiliations

The effects of cognitive-behavioral group therapy for reducing symptoms of internet addiction disorder and promoting quality of life and mental health

Seyyed Salman Alavi et al. Trends Psychiatry Psychother. 2021 Jan-Mar.

Abstract

Introduction: Internet addiction disorder has reportedly become an important cause of health and social problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral group therapy for internet addiction symptoms, quality of life, and mental health of students with internet addiction.

Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest measures and a control group. The statistical population of the study consisted of all students at Tehran universities in the academic year of 2018-19. The target group was selected through an internet addiction test and a clinical interview using a targeted sampling method and was divided into experimental and control groups by randomization. The experimental group participated in fifteen 90-minute cognitive-behavioral group therapy sessions. Before, immediately after, and 3 months after the treatment, the internet addiction symptoms of both groups were evaluated to assess mental health with the IAT, quality of life (QOL), and SCL-90-R questionnaires. Data were analyzed with ANCOVA analysis using SPSS Statistics 20 software.

Results: After treatment, cognitive-behavioral therapy groups showed reductions in internet addiction scores (p < 0.05). Results showed that the cognitive-behavioral group therapy was effective for improving quality of life (p < 0.05) and mental illnesses (p < 0.05) in students with internet addiction.

Conclusions: Cognitive-behavioral group therapy can enhance awareness and mental health of students with internet addiction. Therefore, this intervention can be used as a beneficial treatment to reduce internet addiction symptoms and improve the condition of people with behavioral addictions such as internet dependency.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure

No conflicts of interest declared concerning the publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. CONSORT (2010) flow diagram of participants.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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