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The Effect of Solution-Focused Group Counseling Intervention on College Students’ Internet Addiction: A Pilot Study

Author

Listed:
  • Xinhe Zhang

    (Faculty of Psychology, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China)

  • Xiaoxuan Shi

    (Faculty of Psychology, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China)

  • Shuowei Xu

    (Faculty of Psychology, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China)

  • Jingwen Qiu

    (Faculty of Psychology, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China)

  • Ofir Turel

    (Information Systems and Decision Sciences, California State University, Fullerton, CA 92831, USA)

  • Qinghua He

    (Faculty of Psychology, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
    Chongqing Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Chongqing 400715, China
    Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment toward Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University, Chongqing 400715, China
    Institute of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China)

Abstract

This pilot study aimed to explore the effect of solution-focused group counseling intervention on Internet addiction among college students. Eighteen college students participated in this study, out of which nine subjects were assigned into the experimental group and the rest ( n = 9) to a control group. The experimental group received group counseling for five weeks, while the control group did not receive any intervention. The revised version of the Chinese Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS-R) was used to capture pre-test and post-test excessive use in the two groups. The experimental group was also subjected to a follow-up test and self-reported Internet addiction scores six months after the end of group counseling. Results showed that after the five-week solution-focused group counseling, the scores of four dimensions of the CIAS-R in the experimental group had CIAS-R decreased, and the reduction trend of the total score of CIAS-R was similar across all subjects in this group. The treatment effect was larger than the placebo reduction in the control group in two dimensions: compulsive and withdrawal (Sym-C & Sym-W) and tolerance (Sym-T) symptoms. Qualitative research confirmed the conclusions from the quantitative data, showing that the experimental group reduced its Internet addiction symptoms. Overall, the findings suggested that solution-focused group counseling had positive intervention effects on Internet addiction.

Suggested Citation

  • Xinhe Zhang & Xiaoxuan Shi & Shuowei Xu & Jingwen Qiu & Ofir Turel & Qinghua He, 2020. "The Effect of Solution-Focused Group Counseling Intervention on College Students’ Internet Addiction: A Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-13, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:7:p:2519-:d:342268
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    Cited by:

    1. Olatz Lopez-Fernandez, 2021. "Emerging Health and Education Issues Related to Internet Technologies and Addictive Problems," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-19, January.

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