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Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement for Video Game Addiction in Emerging Adults: Preliminary Findings from Case Reports

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Abstract

Video game addiction is increasingly prevalent in emerging adults and is associated with physical and psychosocial impairments. However, few evidence-based treatments for video game addiction have been identified or evaluated. Mindfulness treatment is effective for substance use disorders and behavioral addictions, and may be a promising intervention for video game addiction. This report presents theoretical support for mindfulness treatment of video game addiction, describes an adapted mindfulness treatment (i.e., Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE)) for video game addiction, and presents case vignettes that describe preliminary effects of MORE in reducing video game addiction and increasing positive coping. Important methodological issues including conceptualization of the treatment model, feasibility of treatment manual adaptation, and promising therapeutic benefits of the MORE intervention are discussed. Our experience developing a mindfulness treatment of video game addiction may be informative to other investigators planning similar studies. In addition, this report could provide useful guidance to clinicians.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Research Council Research Grant and Armfield-Reeves Innovation Fund Grant. E.L.G. was supported by R01DA042033 during the preparation of this manuscript. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Research Council, Armfield-Reeves Innovation Fund, or the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 536 George Street, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA

    Wen Li

  2. College of Social Work, University of Utah, 395 South 1500 East #111, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Eric L. Garland

  3. School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 325 Pittsboro, Chapel Hill, NC, 27517, USA

    Jennifer E. O’Brien, Patricia McGovern & Matthew O. Howard

  4. School for Social Work, Smith College, Lilly Hall, Northampton, MA, 01063, USA

    Christine Tronnier

  5. Edison, NJ, 08817, USA

    Blake Anthony

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  1. Wen Li
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Li, W., Garland, E.L., O’Brien, J.E. et al. Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement for Video Game Addiction in Emerging Adults: Preliminary Findings from Case Reports. Int J Ment Health Addiction 16, 928–945 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-017-9765-8

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