‘Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy’ may reduce internet gaming disorder in college students

A research team led by Professor Anderson Sungmin Yoon and Minah Kim of Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) has developed a “Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Gaming (MBCT-G)” program to address internet gaming disorder among college students and has found promising evidence of its therapeutic effectiveness.

The research was conducted under the close supervision of Willem Kuyken, director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, and has drawn attention from academic circles worldwide for presenting a new therapeutic alternative using psychological intervention to ease internet gaming disorder, a growing public health issue among young adults.

The work is published in the journal Mindfulness.

Internet gaming disorder refers to excessive immersion in gaming severe enough to seriously disrupt daily life. This is particularly common among college students, who often turn to gaming to relieve academic or career-related stress as they begin living independently, away from parental supervision.

To address this problem, Yoon’s research team adapted and modified mindfulness-based cognitive therapy—previously used to treat depression—to fit the specific characteristics of gaming disorder. The program combines mindfulness meditation training—which helps students observe their thoughts, emotions and impulses objectively when a strong urge to game arises—with cognitive therapy that helps them decenter from these urges and respond more skillfully.

The research team conducted an experiment involving 46 college students at high risk of internet gaming disorder. Over the course of an eight-week intervention, participating students practiced mindfulness meditation, social skills and self-care strategies each week. They also planned and carried out alternative pleasurable activities—such as physical activities, social and recreational activities, and creative hobbies—that allowed them to find enjoyment in daily life beyond gaming.

As a result, students who completed the program showed a meaningful reduction in gaming addiction symptoms, along with decreases in stress and anxiety.

The most significant outcome was a marked improvement in students’ self-control—their ability to overcome the urge to game on their own. This effect remained one month after the program ended, demonstrating a sustained benefit.

Yoon explained the significance of the research, stating, “This study offers promising evidence for a psychological intervention that could help college students and adolescents break the vicious cycle of impulsively immersing themselves in gaming during particularly challenging periods in their development.” He added, “If widely adopted by college counseling centers and gaming addiction prevention centers, MBCT-G could help address IGD-related problems more efficiently, as its group-format delivery requires fewer clinical resources.”

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Swati Mestri

Swati Mestri holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space.

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Robert Egan

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