WeChat Intervention for Smartphone Addiction in College Students: a Randomized Trial

NCT06730152 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: 83244555No.81973064
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 210
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to assess the effectiveness of an intervention based on the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) model to treat smartphone addiction in college students. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does the IMB model-based intervention via WeChat public accounts significantly reduce smartphone addiction scores compared to a control group? Does the intervention lead to an increase in motivation and behavioral skills scores among participants? Researchers will compare the intervention group, which receives IMB-enhanced content through WeChat public accounts, to the control group, which maintains regular activities, to see if there are significant improvements in addiction scores, motivation, and behavioral skills in the intervention group. Participants will: Be stratified by gender and randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group. The intervention group will receive information, motivation, and behavioral skills enhancement via WeChat public accounts over a period of 6 weeks. Both groups will be assessed for smartphone addiction scores, information-motivation-behavioral skills scores, average daily smartphone use time, sleep duration, sleep quality, and somatic and psychological symptoms before and after the intervention.

Conditions

Smartphone Addiction

Keywords

smartphone addiction; behavior change; Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• smartphone addiction scale scores

  Smartphone Addiction Scale: The Chinese version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale - Short Version (SAS-SV), containing 10 items. Minimum score of 6, Maximum score of 60, higher scores indicate more severe smartphone addiction .

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks]

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• average daily smartphone use time

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks

• sleep duration

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks]

• sleep quality

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks]

Study Arms (2)

WeChat Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model Intervention Group

EXPERIMENTAL

The intervention group would undergo a six-week intervention program. Researchers promoted a public WeChat account to the intervention group, and participants received the intervention by following the account. They automatically received pushed articles or videos, providing them with relevant knowledge about overcoming smartphone addiction. Furthermore, they would be motivated to quit their addiction through real-life cases of smartphone addiction etc., in addition to some practical skills of overcoming.

Behavioral: WeChat Intervention Based on the IMB Model

Control group

NO INTERVENTION

without any intervention, maintain normal life and study state

Interventions

WeChat Intervention Based on the IMB Model BEHAVIORAL

The intervention group would undergo a six-week intervention program. Researchers promoted a public WeChat account to the intervention group, and participants received the intervention by following the account. They automatically received pushed articles or videos, providing them with relevant knowledge about overcoming smartphone addiction. Furthermore, they would be motivated to quit their addiction through real-life cases of smartphone addiction etc., in addition to some practical skills of overcoming.

WeChat Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model Intervention Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 24 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Meeting the criteria of the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV), with a score of ≥31 for males and ≥33 for females indicating smartphone addiction.
• College students over 18 years old. Active use of WeChat software. Voluntary participation in this study and signing of the informed consent form.

You may not qualify if:

• Currently not enrolled in school due to reasons such as suspension. Currently participating in other research projects. Self-reported diagnosis of any neurological or psychiatric disorder.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Anhui Medical University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Anhui Medical University

Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China

Location

Related Publications (3)

• Kwon M, Lee JY, Won WY, Park JW, Min JA, Hahn C, Gu X, Choi JH, Kim DJ. Development and validation of a smartphone addiction scale (SAS). PLoS One. 2013;8(2):e56936. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056936. Epub 2013 Feb 27.

  PMID: 23468893 BACKGROUND

• Bi J, Yang W, Hao P, Zhao Y, Wei D, Sun Y, Lin Y, Sun M, Chen X, Luo X, Li S, Zhang W, Wang X. WeChat as a Platform for Baduanjin Intervention in Patients With Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in China: Retrospective Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2021 Feb 2;9(2):e23548. doi: 10.2196/23548.

  PMID: 33528369 BACKGROUND

• Bakir E, Cavusoglu H, Mengen E. Effects of the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model on Metabolic Control of Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes in Turkey: Randomized Controlled Study. J Pediatr Nurs. 2021 May-Jun;58:e19-e27. doi: 10.1016/j.pedn.2020.11.019. Epub 2020 Dec 25.

  PMID: 33371976 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Internet Addiction Disorder

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Technology Addiction; Behavior, Addictive; Compulsive Behavior; Impulsive Behavior; Behavior

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Master's Degree Student

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 8, 2024
• First Posted: December 12, 2024
• Study Start: March 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: June 1, 2024
• Study Completion: June 30, 2024
• Last Updated: December 12, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CN (1)