A review of psychological interventions for internet addiction

Internet addiction (IA) may constitute a widespread and serious mental problem. Previous reviews have not fully considered potential factors that may contribute to therapeutic outcomes or predict behavioral changes. Such information is relevant to understand the active ingredients of interventions and to develop more efficacious treatments that target features of IA. This systematic review was designed to relate theories of IA to treatments, describe studies of psychotherapies for IA, and propose a model of addiction and interventions based on extant studies. A computer database search of PubMed, PsychINFO, ScienceDirect, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Google Scholar was conducted to identify all available research evidence on psychological treatments for IA (N = 31 studies). Among these psychological interventions, the targeted reduction of addiction-related impulsivity and craving, improvement of cognitive maladjustment, and alleviation of family problems have been investigated in IA interventions. The targeted domains and intervention methods are not mutually exclusive, and further research is needed to demonstrate the effective components and mechanisms of action for treatments of IA. Such research will help generate more efficacious evidence-based interventions.