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Abstract

The internet has become an integral almost indispensable part of people’s daily life. However, empirical studies indicate that its prevalent use among adolescents has negatively influenced these young people. In some cases, this resulted in compulsive internet gaming or internet gaming disorder which lead to poor psychological well-being. As gaming disorder becomes a growing social issue and a significant public health concern affecting an increasing number of countries, the World Health Organization has recently included it in the latest International Classification of Diseases and recognized individuals with gaming disorder as having a mental health condition. The purpose of this study was to develop and test the feasibility and efficacy of an intervention program that would reduce the level of internet gaming disorder, and improve the psychological well-being of adolescents. The development of the program involved the use of both quantitative and qualitative research designs; internet gaming disorder and Ryff’s psychological well-being scales to measure the level of gaming disorder and psychological health of adolescents; focus group discussions and interviews to acquire in-depth understanding of the key issues; and integrated the cognitive theoretical models of Pathologic Internet Use (PIU) and Mindfulness. The program introduced the concepts of self-awareness and self-acceptance and focused on altering negative cognitions. The eight modular intervention program was validated by 11 experts from various disciplines and was positively received by the participants. The pilot study resulted in reduced internet gaming disorder level and improved psychological health from the selected adolescents in India.

Biography

Georgekutty Kuriala Kochuchakkalackal is presently a member of the Manila Med Ethics Review Committee, a Guidance Coordinator for Foreign Students at the Emilio Aguinaldo College and a guest priest at the Edsa Shrine, Philippines. The author has published an article on “Acculturation stress personality traits as the predictors of psychological well-being of Asian foreign students in Metro Manila” in the Int’l Journal of Psychology and Counselling (2013), is currently taking his doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Sto. Tomas Phils. and working on his thesis paper on internet gaming disorder (IGD), recently recognized as a mental health disorder by the World Health Organization.

E-mail: frgeorgekuttymcbs@gmail.com