An interventional study of Group Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Problematic Internet Use in Problematic Internet Use and Internet Addiction, sponsored by Tribhuvan University, Nepal. Completed at 1 site in Nepal. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-08.
Sponsored by Tribhuvan University, Nepal · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
Problematic internet use, using the internet in ways that interfere with daily life, is a growing concern among university students in Nepal, where studies report prevalence rates between 21.5% and 35.4%. Despite this, structured, evidence-based intervention trials in Nepalese academic settings remain scarce.
This study tested a six-session group program based on cognitive-behavioral therapy, which helps people change unhelpful behaviors around internet use. Sessions lasted 90 minutes and were delivered weekly by supervised Master's-level psychology students who completed 40 hours of CBT training, which the makes the program affordable and scalable for university settings.
Fifty-nine undergraduate students took part: 30 received the group program and 29 formed the comparison group. Both groups completed the Internet Addiction Test and the General Self-Efficacy Scale at five time points: before the program, immediately after, and at 2 weeks, 1 month, and 3 months later.
Students in the program showed significantly greater reductions in internet addiction symptoms than the comparison group immediately after the program (p = .049) and at 1 month, where a large effect was observed (d = -0.83, p = .003). At 3 months, the difference between groups was no longer statistically significant because the comparison group also continued to improve; however, the program group maintained a large reduction from baseline (d = 1.18). Students in the program also showed a significant increase in self-efficacy that remained stable through every follow-up (all p \< .032). Adherence and acceptability were high: participants attended an average of 5.06 of 6 sessions, 80% attended at least 5 sessions, and satisfaction with the therapy reached 78.3% of the maximum possible score.
These findings suggest that a structured, group-based CBT program is an effective and acceptable approach for managing problematic internet use among Nepalese undergraduates and offers a potentially scalable framework for academic institutions in low-resource settings.
166 studies on the registry are indexed under Internet Addiction Disorder; 47 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 59 is below the median of 88 across 96 interventional studies indexed under Internet Addiction Disorder.
Browse Internet Addiction Disorder studies →Tribhuvan University, Nepal is the lead sponsor of 16 studies on the registry; 1 is open to participants now.
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Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants received the six-session group cognitive-behavioral intervention for problematic internet use, delivered weekly in 90-minute group sessions. Delivered across three cohorts: Cohort 1 (single college: n = 8), Cohort 2 (single college: n = 12), and Cohort 3 (mixed colleges: n = 10). Assessed at baseline, immediately post-intervention, 2 weeks, 1 month, and 3 months.
Behavioral: Group Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Problematic Internet Use
Participants received no intervention during the trial period. Assessed on the same schedule as the experimental group: baseline, immediately post-intervention, 2 weeks, 1 month, and 3 months. Delivered across the same three cohorts (Cohort 1: n = 8; Cohort 2: n = 11; Cohort 3: n = 10).
A six-session manualized group program for problematic internet use among Nepalese undergraduates delivered weekly in 90-minute sessions. Grounded in cognitive-behavioral therapy, Young's CBT-IA model, and Davis's cognitive-behavioral model of pathological internet use. Sessions 1-2: orientation, psychoeducation, behavioral monitoring, and planning healthier internet habits (behavior modification). Session 3: cognitive restructuring. Sessions 4-5: harm reduction and emotional/psychological drivers of addiction. Session 6: relapse prevention and consolidation. Culturally adapted for Nepalese youth through multidisciplinary expert review (clinical psychologists, psychiatry, Ayurveda/Yoga, clinical psychology residents). Facilitated by two Master's-level psychology trainees after 40 hours of supervised CBT training by the project lead, with weekly supervision and a structured manual for fidelity.
Internet Addiction Test Score
20-item Internet Addiction Test evaluating the severity of problematic internet use on a 0-5 Likert scale (Young, 1998); higher scores indicate more severe problematic internet use. In this study, scores ≥ 31 defined "mild" to "severe" problematic use.
Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), Week 6 (post-intervention), Week 8 (2-week follow-up), Week 10 (1-month follow-up), and Week 18 (3-month follow-up)
General Self-Efficacy Scale Score
10-item Nepali version of the General Self-Efficacy Scale assessing broad optimistic self-beliefs regarding general coping ability (Schwarzer et al., 1997); higher scores indicate greater general self-efficacy. Change from baseline was the analysis metric.
Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), Week 6 (post-intervention), Week 8 (2-week follow-up), Week 10 (1-month follow-up), and Week 18 (3-month follow-up)
Satisfaction with Therapy and Therapist Scale-Revised Score
13-item STTS-R (Oei \& Green, 2008), administered online to the experimental group after each session with anonymity maintained from facilitators; higher scores indicate greater satisfaction with the therapy and the therapist. Analyzed using the Percentage of Maximum Possible method.
Time frame: Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (Immediately after each intervention session)
Session Attendance
Number of the six sessions attended, used as an indicator of participant adherence
Time frame: Week 6, based on attendance during Weeks 1-6 (experimental arm only)
Plan to share: Undecided — De-identified individual participant data and the study protocol will be shared upon reasonable request to the corresponding author, subject to approval by the Ethical Review Board of Tribhuvan University.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Ran from Dec 2024 to primary completion in Aug 2025, 8 months.
Of 72 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Internet Addiction Disorder, half reached primary completion within 6 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 3 and three quarters within 10. This study's 8 months is above that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 72 studies reached it within 6 months; a quarter within 3 and three quarters within 10.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is completed, as verified in Sep 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Tribhuvan University, Nepal