Effectiveness of an Intervention Program to Develop and Enhance Protective Skills against Game Addiction among 4th through 6th Grade Students
Punnapat Thana-ariyapaisan MSc1, Chanvit Pornnoppadol MD2, Suporn Apinuntavech MD2, Patcharin Seree EdD1
Affiliation : 1 National Institute for Child and Family Development, Mahidol University, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand 2 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
Background : A significant percentage of children in Thailand are addicted to computer-based (online or offline) games.
Protective factors in children and adolescents may help guard against or minimize the development of game addition.
Objective : To study the effectiveness of an intervention program aimed at developing and enhancing protective skills against
game addiction among 4th through 6th grade students in Bangkok, Thailand.
Materials and Methods : The present study used a quasi-experimental research design, and a total of 12 students were
included. The program consisted of 12 one-hour sessions that were designed to enhance student self-esteem, social skills, and
self-discipline. Game Addiction Protection Scale (Game-P) (child version) was measured before and immediately after the
program. Data between groups were compared using Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test.
Results : The results revealed that student participants had a higher level of protection against game addiction after completing
the 12-hour intervention program, as demonstrated by a significant increase in Game-P scores-especially in the child- and
family-related subscales.
Conclusion : The intervention program aimed to enhance protective skills against game addiction among 4th through 6th grade
students demonstrated significant effectiveness. Further study with a larger sample size and a randomized controlled trial
(RCT) design is warranted. Moreover, there should be a longitudinal study to measure the long term effect of the intervention
program.
Keywords : Effectiveness, Intervention program, Game addiction, Protection, Students
