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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Nov 19, 2025; 15(11): 110759
Published online Nov 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i11.110759
Published online Nov 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i11.110759
Effectiveness of non-invasive interventions for internet gaming disorder: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Haewon Byeon, Worker's Care & Digital Health Lab, Department of Future Technology, Korea University of Technology and Education, Cheonan 31253, South Korea
Author contributions: Byeon H contributed to this paper; involved in data interpretation; developed methodology; writing the article.
Supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Funded by the Ministry of Education, No. NRF-RS-2023-00237287.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No benefits in any form have been received or will be received from a commercial party related directly or indirectly to the subject of this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Haewon Byeon, PhD, Associate Professor, Director, Worker's Care & Digital Health Lab, Department of Future Technology, Korea University of Technology and Education, 1600 Chungjeol-ro, Cheonan 31253, South Korea. bhwpuma@naver.com
Received: June 16, 2025
Revised: June 27, 2025
Accepted: September 2, 2025
Published online: November 19, 2025
Processing time: 142 Days and 18.6 Hours
Revised: June 27, 2025
Accepted: September 2, 2025
Published online: November 19, 2025
Processing time: 142 Days and 18.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This meta-analysis of 11 randomized controlled trials involving 1208 adolescents and adults reveals that non-invasive interventions effectively reduce internet gaming disorder (IGD) symptoms. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), both in-person and internet-based CBT, showed the most significant positive impact. Incorporating caregiver involvement or self-monitoring further enhanced the effectiveness of CBT-based programs. Overall, the findings support the use of these low-risk, scalable interventions as initial treatment options for IGD, especially in young people. Future research should explore long-term effects, compare different intervention types, and adapt delivery methods for various cultures.