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Psychological Treatments for Video Game Adicction in Adolescents and Young Adults: a Systematic Review

abstract

Video game addiction is a relevant problem, as it is linked to numerous psychosocial disorders. The
objective of this work was to know the psychological treatments for the aforementioned addiction
and to determine their effectiveness. A bibliographic search was carried out in 7 databases. 2,355
articles were obtained, of which 21 met the inclusion criteria. Participant characteristics, study design,
risk of bias and quality of studies, method of diagnosis, type of intervention, and effects of interventions
were examined. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been widely studied, finding
significant decreases in the variables contemplated (reduction of symptoms and/or playing time)
in most of the studies analyzed. However, the lack of rigor in the designs used and the associated
biases make it impossible to place it in the category of well-established treatments according to the
APA standards. However, there is promising experimental evidence that these interventions can
achieve the postulated levels of efficacy. The same is true for treatments listed as other treatment
approaches, even though these are still in an experimental phase. For this reason, future research
needs to overcome the methodological limitations of the studies carried out to date.

Keywords:

Video game addiction; treatment; effectiveness; systematic review

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Authors

Sofía Payá-López - Departamento de Psicología de la Salud, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Elche, España.
José P. Espada - Departamento de Psicología de la Salud, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Elche, España.
Mireia Orgilés - Departamento de Psicología de la Salud, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Elche, España.
Alexandra Morales - Departamento de Psicología de la Salud, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Elche, España.