The Effectiveness of a Mobile Game Intervention in Alcohol Use Disorder

NCT07103785 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2011-KAEK/80
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a mobile game application targeting attentional bias modification for alcohol stimuli in patients with Alcohol Use Disorder. Attentional bias is the tendency for individuals to pay more attention to some environmental stimuli than others. Previous evidence suggests that attentional bias for alcohol stimuli is associated with severity of drinking and craving. The research questions are as follows;

• Does the developed mobile game application reduce the attentional bias related to alcohol?
• Does the developed mobile game application reduce alcohol craving severity?
• Does the developed mobile game application reduce the severity of alcohol drinking? The researchers will evaluate the effectiveness of the mobile game, which aims to reduce attentional bias to alcohol stimuli, as standard treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder (medical treatment) versus standard treatment + mobile game application group. Participants,
• Comply with the medical treatment prescribed by the doctor
• Use the mobile gaming app every other day for one month
• Come back in a month for an evaluation
• Be available for a telephone interview three months after the first interview

Conditions

Alcohol Use Disorder

Keywords

attentional bias; modification; mobile app; gamification

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Dot-Probe Task

  The Dot-Probe Task was used to assess attentional bias toward alcohol cues. The procedure was built using E-Prime 3.0 and conducted via laptop. Each trial began with a fixation cross (1000 ms), followed by alcohol-neutral image pairs for another 500 ms, displayed on opposite sides of the screen. Ninety-two culturally relevant beverage images (46 alcohol, 46 non-alcohol) were used, including beer, wine, rakı, whiskey, water, soda, cola, and iced coffee. The experiment consisted of three blocks of 46 trials. Participants were instructed to identify the location of a probe, appearing where one image had been, by pressing the left or right arrow key as quickly as possible. A four-trial practice block preceded the task. Reaction time differences between probes replacing alcohol vs. neutral cues were used to calculate attentional bias scores. Higher bias scores indicated increased attention toward alcohol-related stimuli.

  Average 30 days: measurement before intervention (Time 1), 4 weeks after intervention, immediately after intervention measurement (Time 2)

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• The Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS)

  Average 30 days: pre-intervention measurement (Time 1), 4 weeks intervention, immediately after the intervention measurement (Time 2), Three months after Time 2 (Time 3)

• The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)

  Average 30 days: pre-intervention measurement (Time 1), 4 weeks intervention, immediately after the intervention measurement (Time 2), Three months after Time 2 (Time 3)

Study Arms (2)

Control group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

30 patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Drug: Akamprosat or Naltrekson or combined medical treatment (Akamprosat and Naltrekson)

Mobile game group

EXPERIMENTAL

30 patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Other: Mobile game app; Drug: Akamprosat or Naltrekson or combined medical treatment (Akamprosat and Naltrekson)

Interventions

Mobile game app OTHER

The mobile game designed to modify attentional bias toward alcohol-related cues was developed by integrating game elements into a modified version of the dot-probe task. This gamified intervention was installed on the smartphones of participants assigned to the experimental group, and each participant was provided with a unique username and password for access. Participants were instructed to engage with the mobile game every other day over one month.

Mobile game group

Akamprosat or Naltrekson or combined medical treatment (Akamprosat and Naltrekson) DRUG

Medicines prescribed by a doctor for the treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder (Akamprosat or Naltrekson or combined medical treatment (Akamprosat and Naltrekson))

Control group; Mobile game group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Being over the age of 18
• Ability to speak and understand Turkish
• Literacy (reading and writing)
• Ability to use a smartphone
• Having received a formal diagnosis of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD)
• Receiving outpatient treatment and follow-up care for AUD
• Scoring 8 or higher on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)

You may not qualify if:

• Currently experiencing an active psychotic episode
• Currently in a manic or hypomanic episode
• Having a neurodevelopmental or neurocognitive disorder
• Exhibiting symptoms of delirium
• Being under the influence of alcohol or other substances to a degree that negatively affects cognitive functioning
• Having participated as a qualitative data contributor in the initial phase of the study

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Yalova: lead
• TC Erciyes University: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Erenköy Ruh Ve Sinir Hastaliklari Eğitim Ve Araştirma Hastanesi

Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye)

Location

Related Publications (2)

• Kvamme TL, Pedersen MU, Overgaard M, Thomsen KR, Voon V. Pilot study: Improving attention bias modification of alcohol cues through concealed gaze-contingent feedback in alcohol dependence. Addict Behav Rep. 2019 Nov 6;10:100231. doi: 10.1016/j.abrep.2019.100231. eCollection 2019 Dec.

  PMID: 31832536 BACKGROUND

• Heitmann J, van Hemel-Ruiter ME, Huisman M, Ostafin BD, Wiers RW, MacLeod C, DeFuentes-Merillas L, Fledderus M, Markus W, de Jong PJ. Effectiveness of attentional bias modification training as add-on to regular treatment in alcohol and cannabis use disorder: A multicenter randomized control trial. PLoS One. 2021 Jun 4;16(6):e0252494. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252494. eCollection 2021.

  PMID: 34086751 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alcoholism

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Alcohol-Related Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: research assistant

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 24, 2025
• First Posted: August 5, 2025
• Study Start: June 11, 2024
• Primary Completion: May 30, 2025
• Study Completion: June 30, 2025
• Last Updated: August 5, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

TU (1)