Development, Content Validation, and Feasibility of Yoga Module for Smartphone Addiction

Mental health practitioners have postulated that smartphone addiction is a disorder characterized by maladaptive and problematic behavior, and treatment modalities are scarce. Yoga has been found to be a viable tool for addiction treatment and other psychiatric conditions, but no specific validated module is currently available for smartphone addiction.

The study intended: (1) to develop a yoga-based intervention for smartphone addiction, based on the ancient literature of yoga and a modern literature review; (2) to validate the developed module with experts from different schools of yoga; and (3) to test the module's feasibility and efficacy for young adolescents, with the objective of creating biopsychosocial well-being.

The research team first conducted a search of traditional and contemporary literature, with the objective of developing the yoga program. That yoga program was then sent to yoga experts for content validation. A pilot study then tested the feasibility of using the developed module for individuals with internet and smartphone addiction.

The study took place in Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA) University, Bengaluru, India.

For content validity, participants were 15 yoga experts who had >10 years of experience in treating mental health disorders. For feasibility in a pilot study, participants were 22 students from an engineering college in Bengaluru, South India.

For content validity, the experts' opinions were rated using a content validation ratio (CVR) through Lawshe's formula. For the feasibility study, assessments were performed at baseline and post intervention. Data were collected to evaluate: (1) addiction level using the Smartphone Addiction Scale - Short Version (SAS-SV), (2) impulsiveness using the Barat Impulsive Scale (BIS); (3) sleep problems using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), (4) mindfulness using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), (4) self-regulation using the Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SSRQ); and general health using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12).

In the final version of the module, 26 out of 35 items (74.28%) of the practices in the developed program were retained, together with the modifications suggested by the experts. The content validity index for the whole module, an average of all CVRs, was 0.74. The study found significant reductions in the most symptom scores after participants practiced the yoga module for six weeks.

A yoga module for smartphone addiction was developed, validated, and checked for feasibility. The content validity of the module was found to be good. The module was found to potentially useful for reducing symptoms in individuals with smartphone addiction. Future studies should test the efficacy of the developed program through a randomized, controlled clinical trial.