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. 2022 Jun 3:1-22.
doi: 10.1007/s11469-022-00846-6. Online ahead of print.

The Effect of Psychosocial Interventions for Reducing Co-occurring Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety in Individuals with Problematic Internet Use: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

André Luiz Monezi Andrade  1 , Gabriella Di Girolamo Martins  1 , Adriana Scatena  2 , Fernanda Machado Lopes  3 , Wanderlei Abadio de Oliveira  4 , Hyoun S Kim  5 , Denise De Micheli  6
Affiliations

The Effect of Psychosocial Interventions for Reducing Co-occurring Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety in Individuals with Problematic Internet Use: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

André Luiz Monezi Andrade et al. Int J Ment Health Addict. .

Abstract

The objective of this study is to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effect of psychosocial interventions in reducing problematic Internet use (PIU), anxiety, and depression symptoms in a sample of people. This review was registered on the PROSPERO database (CRD42020181912) and a total of 15 studies were included. Analyses of the effect of the interventions were conducted based on the standardized mean difference of the studied outcomes (PIU, anxiety, and depression). Most studies reported a positive effect of psychosocial interventions on reducing symptoms of PIU, depression, and anxiety among people with PIU. However, only one detected a robust effect in reducing symptoms of anxiety. For depression, this effect was more modest, and there was no difference between the different modalities of psychosocial interventions. The results suggest that psychosocial interventions are effective in reducing both symptoms of PIU and co-occurring symptoms of depression and anxiety in individuals with PIU.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11469-022-00846-6.

Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Interventions; Problematic Internet use.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of InterestThe authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram of search
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Forest plot showing standardized mean difference (95% CI) and the studies weighted regarding different interventions to reduce problematic internet use. Notes: (i) The repeating studies in the plot indicate the effect of each separate intervention; (ii) the studies 1, 2, 6, 9, 11, and 13 were compared with control groups, and the others were compared before and after the intervention; (iii) we excluded studies 8 and 12 from this plot due to the impossibility of calculating the standardized mean difference based on the data available in these articles
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Forest plot showing standardized mean difference (95% CI) and the studies weighted regarding different interventions to reduce anxiety symptoms among individuals with PIU. Notes: (i) The repeating studies in the plot indicate the effect of each separate intervention; (ii) the studies 1, 9, and 11 were compared with control groups, and the others were compared before and after the intervention
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Forest plot showing standardized mean difference (95% CI) and the studies weighted regarding different interventions to reduce depression symptoms among individuals with PIU. Notes: (i) The repeating studies in the plot indicate the effect of each separate intervention; (ii) the studies 9 and 11 were compared with control groups, and the others were compared before and after the intervention
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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