Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Jun 14, 2024
Date Accepted: Mar 5, 2025
Ambivalent user needs as a challenge and chancefor the design of a web-based intervention for gaming disorder:a qualitative interview study with adolescents and young adults
ABSTRACT
Background:
Web-based interventions (WBI) can fill a gap in care for young people with gaming disorder (GD). However, the development of a self-guided WBI for GD is challenging, as it has to address a heterogeneous user group with little flexibility to respond to their individual needs. Therefore, the target group of such a WBI should be involved in its development from the very beginning.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to explore the treatment needs of young people with GD and to derive implications for the development of a self-guided WBI for GD.
Methods:
Using a qualitative study design, we conducted a focus group with 3 young male adults and semi-structured individual interviews with 3 male adolescents. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Reporting of this study followed the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Studies.
Results:
Exploring the participants' experiences with GD showed that despite the negative effects, gaming and GD can fulfill important emotional and social needs. For example, by analyzing the participants' experiences with successful strategies, we found that external stabilizers (eg, parental control, and support group meetings) were helpful in managing GD. The barriers of ‘too much pressure’ and ‘not enough pressure’ were also significant. The belief that gaming offers reward and that only equally rewarding activities can be a successful alternative to gaming was important, as it is in tension with the fact that managing GD symptoms can be stressful. Participants' expectations of web-based help in general, of a self-guided WBI for GD, and of possible barriers to using a WBI showed a wide variety of and sometimes conflicting user requirements. For example, on the one hand, a WBI should be designed to be attractive by including game elements; on the other hand, it should not trigger GD.
Conclusions:
The heterogeneity and complexity of user needs can be used to design a WBI that directly addresses ambivalence as part of a change process. Clinical Trial: This study was registered in the German Clinical Trials Register on September 11, 2023 under the ID DRKS00032334.
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