Effects of Temporary Abstinence and Expressive Writing on Gaming

NCT07068035 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: NUS-IRB-2023-1037
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 321
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate if an intervention combining temporary abstinence and expressive writing can mitigate gaming problems in young adult regular gamers. The main questions it aims to answer are: \- Does intervention combining temporary abstinence and expressive writing reduces problematic gaming and gaming time? Researchers will compare the treatment group to a control group (gaming as per usual and control writing) to examine if the intervention works to mitigate gaming problems. Participants will:

• Temporarily abstain from video games for a period of 7 days and engage in 4 expressive writing exercises during this intervention period
• Answer three surveys: a baseline survey before the start of the intervention, a post survey after the 7-day intervention, and a follow-up survey 1 month after the post survey.

Conditions

Problematic Video Gaming

Keywords

problematic gaming; expressive writing; temporary abstinence; gaming time

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• problematic gaming

  Based on the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form. Higher scores indicated greater problematic gaming

  Baseline and 1 month after intervention completion

• gaming hours

  Participants self-reported the average number of hours spent playing video games per day in a typical week over the past 30 days. This measure quantifies the total time engaged in gaming activity, with higher hours indicating greater gaming engagement.

  Baseline and 1 month after intervention completion

• emotion dysregulation

  Based on the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-18). Higher scores indicated greater emotion dysregulation

  Baseline, 1 day after intervention completion, and 1 month after intervention completion

• maladaptive gaming cognitions

  Based on the Internet Gaming Cognition Scale. Higher scores indicated greater maladaptive gaming cognitions

  Baseline, 1 day after intervention completion, and 1 month after intervention completion

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• psychological distress

  Baseline, 1 day after intervention completion, and 1 month after intervention completion

• physical health

  Baseline, 1 day after intervention completion, and 1 month after intervention completion

• exercise frequency

  Baseline, 1 day after intervention completion, and 1 month after intervention completion

• sleep quality

  Baseline and 1 month after intervention completion

Other Outcomes (1)

• compensatory behaviours

  Baseline, 1 day after intervention completion, and 1 month after intervention completion

Study Arms (2)

Treatment

EXPERIMENTAL

The treatment group was instructed to abstain from gaming for a period of 7 days and to engage in expressive writing exercises for 15 minutes every other day for a total of 4 sessions

Behavioral: Temporary abstinence and expressive writing

Control

OTHER

The control group was instructed to continue their usual gaming routine for a period of 7 days and to engage in control writing exercises for 15 minutes every other day for a total of 4 sessions.

Behavioral: Gaming as per usual and control writing

Interventions

Temporary abstinence and expressive writing BEHAVIORAL

This brief, self-administered intervention combined both temporary gaming abstinence and gaming-focused expressive writing to mitigate gaming problems

Also known as: temporary abstinence, expressive writing

Treatment

Gaming as per usual and control writing BEHAVIORAL

Participants continued with their usual gaming routine and engaged in control writing exercises for 15 minutes every other day for a total of 4 sessions

Also known as: gaming as per usual, control writing

Control

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 35 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Singapore citizens/Permanent Residents
• Between 18 and 35 years old
• Play video games regularly (on average at least 7 hours per week)
• Able to read and write English
• Non-professional gamers
• Experience some problems with gaming, use gaming for emotional comfort
• Willing to temporarily take a break from gaming for 7 days

You may not qualify if:

• Non-Singapore citizens/Permanent Residents
• Below 18 or above 35 years old
• Do not play video games regularly (less than 7 hours per week)
• Unable to read or write English
• Professional gamers
• Experience no problems with gaming, does not use gaming for emotional comfort
• Unwilling to temporarily take a break from gaming for 7 days

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National University of Singapore: lead

Study Sites (1)

Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore

Singapore, 117572, Singapore

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Model Details: Participants in the treatment group were instructed to abstain from gaming for a period of 7 days and to engage in expressive writing exercises for 15 minutes every other day for a total of 4 sessions. Participants in the control group were instructed to continue their usual gaming routine for a period of 7 days and to engage in control writing exercises for 15 minutes every other day for a total of 4 sessions.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 7, 2025
• First Posted: July 16, 2025
• Study Start: August 2, 2024
• Primary Completion: November 11, 2024
• Study Completion: November 11, 2024
• Last Updated: July 16, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-07

Locations

SG (1)