Motivational Interviewing Program Reduces Digital Game Addiction and Cyberbullying in Adolescents
Photo by Brett Jordan / Unsplash
Key Takeaway
Consider that a motivational interviewing-based program may reduce digital game addiction and cyberbullying in adolescents, but evidence is limited to short-term outcomes from a small single-school study.
This randomized controlled trial evaluated a motivational interviewing-supported health education program for reducing digital game addiction and cyberbullying among adolescents. The study included 52 ninth-grade students from a single high school in the capital city of Türkiye, with 26 assigned to the intervention and 26 to a control group receiving no specified intervention.
The intervention consisted of six sessions incorporating motivational interviewing techniques. Outcomes were assessed immediately after the intervention (post-test). Compared to the control group, the intervention group showed significantly lower mean scores for digital game addiction (partial eta-squared = 0.339, p < 0.005), cyberbullying (partial eta-squared = 0.428, p < 0.005), and cyber victimization (partial eta-squared = 0.161, p < 0.005).
No safety data, adverse events, or discontinuations were reported. The study's primary limitation is its small sample drawn from a single high school, which limits generalizability. Additionally, only short-term outcomes were assessed, and absolute score reductions were not reported.
Clinicians should interpret these findings cautiously. While the program shows promise, further research in larger, more diverse settings with longer follow-up is needed before recommending widespread implementation.
View Original Abstract ↓
OBJECTIVES: Digital game addiction and cyberbullying are two common and significant public health issues among adolescents. The present study was conducted to measure the effect of motivational interviewing-supported health education in reducing digital game addiction and cyberbullying behaviors in adolescents.
STUDY DESIGN: A parallel-group randomized controlled trial was adopted.
METHODS: The study population consisted of ninth-grade adolescents studying in a single high school in the capital city of Türkiye. The study included 52 adolescents (experiment: 26; control: 26). Data were collected using the Personal Information Form, the Digital Game Addiction Scale (DGAS-7), and the Renewed Cyberbullying Inventory-II. Motivational interviewing-supported health education program, including six sessions, was implemented for the experiment group to reduce digital game addiction and cyberbullying behaviors. Instruments were given to the experiment and control groups at baseline (before the intervention) and post-test (after the intervention). A chi-square test, a two-way mixed-design variance analysis, and a Bonferroni test were used to analyze the data.
RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference between the experiment and the control groups regarding digital game addiction, cyberbullying, and cyber victimization baseline mean scores (p > 0.05). After the intervention, digital game addiction, cyberbullying, and cyber victimization post-test mean scores in the experiment group decreased significantly compared to the control group (p < 0.005), highlighting the short-term outcomes. The intervention revealed large effect sizes, with partial eta-squared values of 0.339, 0.428, and 0.161, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: The study concluded that health education-supported motivational interviewing was effective in reducing digital game addiction and cyberbullying behaviors in adolescents.
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