Effectiveness of school-based intervention for problematic gaming among adolescents: A cluster randomized controlled trial

To assess the effectiveness of school-based intervention for problematic gaming among adolescents.

The following process will be followed

Phase 1

•To estimate the prevalence of problematic gaming among adolescents

Study design: Cross-sectional study

Study Site: Schools in Udupi Block, Karnataka, India

Study participants: The study participants will be recruited from schools in Udupi Block studying in 8th and 9th Grade in English Medium Higher Secondary Schools.

•To explore the experience and perceptions of gaming among stakeholders

•Study design: Qualitative design

Study population:

This phase involves focus group discussions and In-depth interviews with stakeholders

Focus group discussion (FGD)– Adolescents

FGD–Professionals (occupational therapists, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatry social workers, and teachers)

In-depth interview - Family members of adolescents

Phase 2

•To develop a school-based intervention to prevent problematic gaming among adolescents.

Development of school-based intervention -based on literature review and from the findings of Phase I- Content and face validity be done with five subject experts and Pilot Test -Pre-post design

•Feedback concerning the content/activities will be taken at the end of each session from participants

•Based on the feedback, necessary changes will be incorporated into the final module

•To assess the effectiveness of the school-based intervention in preventing problematic gaming among adolescents.

For baseline data collection, demographic details (age, education, gender, residence status, location) and other information on gaming (gaming genre, time spent per day, weekends spent time, reasons for playing–leisure, boredom, mood modification, and others), general health status, other leisure activities, sleep pattern, will be collected. The study will have six weeks of interventions (one face-to-face session per week), and each session will last 45 minutes to 60 minutes per week. The participant’s group of 6 to 12 will be included in a single session and followed up for six sessions. The primary and secondary outcomes are measured constantly in week 1 (T 0- baseline) and week 6 T 1 post-intervention and Follow-up T 2 three months. The family members will be given a parental guide in week 1. Parental feedback will be taken at the end of the session.

Control group: The control group will receive one session of the awareness program and parental guide in week 1, and in weeks one and six, AICA-S will be administered.

Quantitative Data Analysis: Demographic details will be descriptively analysed. The primary and secondary outcomes will be analysed using an independent t-test.