Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30427213›Full record

ArticleJournal of behavioral addictions2018

Treatment efficacy of a specialized psychotherapy program for Internet Gaming Disorder.

Alexandra Torres-Rodríguez, Mark D Griffiths, Xavier Carbonell, Ursula Oberst

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of behavioral addictions, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
39.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

28 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 126 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Treatment of Gaming Disorder in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review.Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2025
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Effectiveness of Therapeutic Interventions in the Treatment of Internet Gaming Disorder: A Systematic Review.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2025
    Review
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Digital Addiction Intervention for Children and Adolescents: A Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023
    Article
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Technological Addictions.Current psychiatry reports · 2022
    Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Alexandra Torres-Rodríguez1 Psychology Department, FPCEE Blanquerna, Universitat Ramon Llull , Barcelona, Spain.
Mark D Griffiths2 International Gaming Research Unit, Psychology Department, Nottingham Trent University , Nottingham, UK.
Xavier Carbonell1 Psychology Department, FPCEE Blanquerna, Universitat Ramon Llull , Barcelona, Spain.
Ursula Oberst1 Psychology Department, FPCEE Blanquerna, Universitat Ramon Llull , Barcelona, Spain.
Universitat Ramon Llull · ESNottingham Trent University · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimsInternet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has become health concern around the world, and specialized health services for the treatment of IGD are emerging. Despite the increase in such services, few studies have examined the efficacy of psychological treatments for IGD. The primary aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a specialized psychotherapy program for adolescents with IGD [i.e., the "Programa Individualizado Psicoterapéutico para la Adicción a las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación" (PIPATIC) program].

methodsThe sample comprised 31 adolescents (aged 12-18 years) from two public mental health centers who were assigned to either the (a) PIPATIC intervention experimental group or (b) standard cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) control group. The interventions were assessed at pre-, middle-, and post-treatment phases, as well as a 3-month assessment was carried out after completing the interventions.

resultsNo significant differences between either group in the pre-treatment phase were found. Relating to the different interventions examined, significant differences were found at pre-test and post-test on the following variables: comorbid disorders, intrapersonal and interpersonal abilities, family relationships, and therapists' measures. Both groups experienced a significant reduction of IGD symptoms, although the PIPATIC group experienced higher significant improvements in the remainder of the variables examined. DISCUSSION AND

conclusionsThe findings suggest that PIPATIC program is effective in the treatment of IGD and its comorbid disorders/symptoms, alongside the improvement of intra- and interpersonal abilities and family relationships. However, it should also be noted that standard CBT was also effective in the treatment of IGD. Changing the focus of treatment and applying an integrative focus (including the addiction, the comorbid symptoms, intra- and interpersonal abilities, and family psychotherapy) appear to be more effective in facilitating adolescent behavior change than CBT focusing only on the IGD itself.

Indexed as

Adolescent BehaviorChild BehaviorInternetTreatment OutcomeVideo GamesAdolescentBehavior, AddictiveChildCognitive Behavioral TherapyHumansMaleadolescencecognitive-behavioral therapygaming disorder treatmentInternet Gaming Disordervideo game

Identifiers

PMID30427213
PMCPMC6376389
OpenAlexW2900645431

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.