NCT07068035

Effects of Temporary Abstinence and Expressive Writing on Gaming

Investigating the Use of Temporary Abstinence and Expressive Writing for Reducing Problematic Gaming

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 321 (actual)
• Sponsor: National University of Singapore · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 35 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

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.

Detailed description

This clinical trial investigates the effectiveness of a self-administered intervention combining temporary abstinence and expressive writing in addressing problematic gaming behaviours among young adult gamers in Singapore. It aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in reducing problematic gaming behaviours and improving emotional and health-related outcomes (e.g., psychological distress, physical health status) among young adult gamers by comparing the outcomes among two groups: temporary abstinence with expressive writing group and control group Participants have to attend an online briefing, complete a baseline survey, take part in a 7-day intervention, complete a post-intervention survey one day later and a 1-month follow-up survey. 1. Online briefing: Participants attended an online briefing session where a member of the research team briefed them on the procedures, emphasised the importance of adhering to the intervention protocol, and addressed any questions that they might have. 2. Baseline survey: Participants were asked to report on their sociodemographics and internet and gaming-related habits, as well as psychosocial characteristics. The baseline survey had to be completed on the same day as the online briefing. 3. Intervention: Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups and to take part in the intervention that lasted for 7 consecutive days. In the treatment group, participants 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 on Day 1, Day 3, Day 5, and Day 7 of the intervention. Participants typed their writings online using the Qualtrics platform. In the control group, participants were instructed to continue with their usual gaming routine and engaged in control writing exercises for the same number of sessions and duration across the same days. 4. Post-intervention survey: Participants were asked to complete a subset of the baseline survey and a few questions about the intervention (e.g., manipulation checks, compliance). 5. 1-month follow-up survey: Participants were asked to complete a similar set of questionnaires as the baseline survey 1 month after the completion of the post-intervention survey.

Conditions

• Problematic Video Gaming

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Temporary abstinence and expressive writing	This brief, self-administered intervention combined both temporary gaming abstinence and gaming-focused expressive writing to mitigate gaming problems
BEHAVIORAL	Gaming as per usual and control writing	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

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-08-02
• Primary completion: 2024-11-11
• Completion: 2024-11-11
• First posted: 2025-07-16
• Last updated: 2025-07-16

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Singapore