Logic Model-Cyber Addiction in Adolescence
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Paper.docxPrevalence of Internet addiction among adolescents
The adolescence phase is the period when one is transiting from childhood to early adulthood. During this period, individuals tend to experience emotional crises which are accompanied by mood changes, anxiety, frustration, and fear of failures. Adolescents are fascinated with the technology and are the leading Internet users among all the demographics. Lack of emotional intelligence among adolescents make them prone to risky behaviors and often indulge in addictive practices.8 This includes practices such as excessive Internet use to cope up with frustrations associated with this age group. The prevalence of Internet addiction is, therefore high among adolescents as compared to adults.
Interventions initiated to solve the issue of cyber addiction in adolescents
Cyber addiction has been recognized as a psychological disorder by the World Health Organization (WHO). 9 Different countries including the United States have also recognized Internet addiction as a public health concern. Cyber addiction has been strongly associated with impulsiveness and aggressive behaviours among adolescents. Adolescents addicted to Internet use tend to become violent and withdrawn from social activities. Additionally, the high number of obesity and diabetes among adolescents in the United States has been positively associated with physical inactivity as most youths spend their spare time on online activities. Therefore, several preventive interventions have been initiated to help alleviate adolescents from cyber addiction-related consequences.
One of the widespread intervention initiatives to curb cyber addiction is basic education about the consequences of excessive use of the Internet. Educators use expert’s factual information on adverse dangers of Internet addiction and how to control Internet use. The effects of Internet use have been incorporated in the media education in primary and secondary schools.10
Intervention plan and needed resources
Since Internet addiction has become a serious problem among adolescents between the ages of 10-19 years, implementing effective intervention programs is critical for better outcomes. Three interventions will be appropriate including psychotherapy, reality therapy, and the reSTART program.
Various psychological intervention plans have been proposed to cut down the cyber addiction among adolescents. Some of the widely proposed psychological interventions include psychotherapies such as community-based treatment, vocational rehabilitation, cognitive-behavioural therapy and problem-solving therapy. Psychotherapeutic interventions follow two models; moderate and controlled use of the Internet.11 The moderate model intervention indicates that addicted individual to stay offline for an increasing amount of time than there are online. For instance, parents can control the time that their children spend on online activities. If the adolescent resumes Internet activities immediately after school until bedtime, the parent can limit it to 2 to 3 hours after school.
Other intervention plans include setting schedules that disrupt patterns of Internet use among adolescents. Educators and other concerned parties can schedule activities that engage adolescents physically and make them avoid any engagement with Internet applications. These disruptive activities include outdoor sports and activities. Also, adolescents are encouraged to abstain from Internet applications that they cannot control. For instance, the adolescent can be stopped from navigating online games which have been found to be highly addictive. Additionally, support groups can be used to reduce Internet addiction among adolescents. Research shows that most people use the Internet as a compensation to lack of social support. P sychotherapy
Psychotherapeutic interventions have been proved by many scholars to be effective in addressing Internet addiction. In this intervention plan for cyber addition, no specific form of psychological intervention exists as the universal or standard for treatment. The intervention can be implemented in the form of two contexts including controlled use and total abstinence. Because of the numerous benefits of the Internet in the daily lives of adolescents, it can be challenging to implement the total abstinence model to individuals suffering from Internet addiction. As such, the guiding principle in this intervention program will be controlled and moderate use of the Internet. In the abstinence model, the addict stays away from using a specific Internet application such as games and chat rooms and utilizes other applications in moderation. The abstinence model will be used to individuals who have tried and failed to moderate their Internet application.
Therapeutic intervention entails cognitive restructuring concerning the Internet applications that the adolescents use often. Several techniques will be used to achieve this goal. The first approach will be helping those affected practice the opposite. Here, the therapists together with parents and teachers discover the Internet usage pattern of the adolescent and disrupt them by proposing new schedules. For instance, if the addict goes online after school and remains online until the time to sleep, the parent can suggest for dinner, doing homework then go back to the computer. The strategy will disrupt the addict’s Internet usage pattern, therefore preventing him or her from excessive use.
The second strategy will comprise helping the adolescents to set specific and achievable goals concerning the amount of time spent on the Internet. The third approach will include the use of support groups where the addicts will receive sufficient social support from family and friends. Most Internet addicts tend to use the Internet to compensate for the lack of social support, therefore providing such enhancements can play a critical role in curing the addiction. To successfully implement the therapeutic interventions, there must be cooperation between parents, teachers, and counselors of the addict adolescents. While the parent tries to execute the strategies at home, teachers should also do the same at school.
Additionally, reality therapy will also play a crucial role in addressing cyber addiction among adolescents. Reality therapy focuses on problem-solving as well as making appropriate choices to attain specific goals.12 The primary purpose of this approach is to address issues, rebuild connections and to focus on a better future. Here, the therapist asks the addicts what they want and how their present behaviors are playing a role in achieving the set goals. As such, the therapist and client can both explore the appropriate solutions to problems facing the client as well as make those solutions a reality. In this case, the counselors in schools will act as therapists to help the adolescents identify their problems and come up with appropriate solutions that make the set targets a reality.
The parents and teachers will also play a significant role in this approach. Because they also tend to interact with these adolescents at home and school respectively. Lastly, the reSTART Program will also form part of the psychotherapeutic interventions where therapists will try to restore the behaviors the behaviors of the addicts as well as come up with solutions to their problems to make their lives better. Moreover, the resources needed for successful implementation of this intervention include therapists and financial resources to the facilitation of the therapists and marketing of the program.
The reSTART program
The reSTART program is an Internet addiction recovery program based in Fall City, Washington. This integrated program operates on an inpatient basis and helps teenagers addicted to the Internet shun the habit.13 The program uses a strategy referred to as technology detoxification to help their clients recover from cyber addiction. Technology detoxification is defined as no Internet or technology use for a period of one and half to three months (45 to 90 days). Out of the total number of individuals who were taken through the 45 to 90 days of no technology, almost three quarters (74%) showed significant improvement from cyber addiction. Of these individuals 21% showed little improvement while only 5% showed signs of deteriorating. These results were regarded as preliminary because of a small sample studied and lacked a control group. These limitations notwithstanding, there is indication that most of the improvements demonstrated are as a result of the program.
The reSTART program also helps with recovery from alcohol and drug abuse. Some of the therapies used include cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, experiential adventure-based therapy, brain enhancing interventions, and mindfulness-based relapse prevention. Other therapeutic interventions employed by the reSTART program include psycho-educational groups (incorporating interventions such as addiction education, life visioning, social and life skills, communication and assertiveness training, and life balance plan). The program also uses individualized treatments for co-occurring disorders, aftercare treatments (which can monitor technology use, enhance group work, and continuing psychotherapy). Monitoring of technology use, ongoing psychotherapy and group work), and ongoing care (outpatient treatment) in a personalized, all-inclusive approach among other interventions.14
The program is designed in such a way that it weans patients away from the Internet via a combination of social skills and traditional talk therapies. Some of the techniques used include valuable lessons in communication skills. Patients are also assigned tasks such as feeding goats, performing home maintenance, and raising chickens as a way of reorienting them with the life away from the Internet. The first Internet addict to be enrolled in the program was a 19-year old young man from Iowa who confessed that he was addicted to an online game.
The reSTART program seems to be expensive (costing roughly $14,500 for the entire program) but experts have expressed optimism that it can be helpful. According to Stuart Fischoff, a psychologist and senior editor at the Journal of Media Psychology with no affiliation to the program, the program has given rise to very positive results. He observed that the aim is to make the patient experience satisfaction from something that does not need connection to the Internet. Thus, giving to patients someone who appreciates them, needs them, and does not judge them but gives them a chance to forget about the Internet and reach out to the real world.15
Comparison with the existing programs
Currently, several intervention approaches to Internet addiction have been integrated, for instance, cognitive behavioral therapy, family therapy, community therapy among others.16 The similarity between these therapies and psychotherapy approaches is that all of them require face-to-face interactions between the therapist and clients. They are also aimed at changing behaviors and lifestyles through dropping the old and bad ones then adopting the new one that can make life better. Also, all of these therapies need cooperation among the therapist, client, and other relevant individuals such as parents and teachers for successful outcomes.
Moreover, the programs intends to improve on the existing programs through ensuring cooperation between parents, teachers, and the addicts to achieve the desired results. Most past and previous intervention programs only focuses on the relationship between the therapist and client; however, other individuals such as teachers and parents also play a vital role in changing behaviors of addicts. Therefore, this program will focus on creating healthy relationships to attain its targets.
Challenges with implementation
In essence, implementation of any program usually faces various challenges that can adversely impact the outcomes. In this program, one of the problems that would likely to surface include failure of the addicts to cooperate with the therapists. Since most adolescents cannot live without the Internet, they would probably not to collaborate with the therapists through the intervention program. They might give false information about their Internet-related problems, therefore jeopardizing the work of the therapists as well as outcomes. Another challenge will relate to the failure of parents and teachers to cooperate with the therapists.
As noted earlier, parents and teachers will play a vital role in the success of this program; therefore their failure to cooperate can adversely impact the outcomes. The third potential challenge will relate to finances where the therapists might lack sufficient money to reach the addicts as well as create awareness about the program.
Evaluation plan
Evaluating a program is usually not an easy task. Moreover, to assess the effectiveness and success of the proposed intervention program, several measurable outcomes will be used. Firstly, the participation and involvement of the addicts, parents, and teachers rate will indicate the effectiveness and success of the program. For instance, a high number of addicts, parents, and teachers who will involve in the program will signify its success. However, a low turnout will mean that the awareness as well as the implementation of the program was ineffective. Another element that will be used to evaluate the plan includes the behaviors of the addicts. Three weeks following the implementation of the program, the behaviors of addicts will be assessed to determine any changes. Positive behavioral changes will indicate the effectiveness and success of the program. The adolescents are expected to demonstrate a positive change by reducing their dependence on the usage of the Internet and adopt other alternatives.
Challenges with evaluation
The primary challenge that will be faced during the evaluation plan will be relate to locating all the addicts that would have gone through the program. Some of the participants might not be present during evaluation, therefore, leading to assumptions that might not reflect the actual impact of the program. Another challenge would be finding the right measurement to assess the effectiveness of the program. Finding an appropriate measure or scale to determine the success of any program is usually difficult.
Approaches to treating adolescent Internet addicts
Under this category of efforts applied for deterrence of cyber addiction, motivational interviewing is commonly used. This is a client-centered but directive technique used in intrinsic impulse to change enhancement which works by exploring and solving patient uncertainty.17 This technique was developed to help addicts shun behaviors which may lead to addiction and learn new behavioral and live skills.
Some of the methods used here include open-ended questions, affirmation, reflective listening, as well as summarization to enable patients talk about their concerns about change.18 One shortcoming about the motivational interviewing technique is that presently, there are no studies addressing its efficiency in treating Internet addiction, although it has been seen to be effective in treating other addictions.
Interventions by family members and the community is the other psychological approach widely used to treat adolescents with the Internet addiction problem.19 Family training and community reinforcement can be a useful technique in improving the enthusiasm of an Internet addict to reduce the time spent on the Internet.20 This strategy to treat people with Internet addiction can be very effective if used properly since it involves people who are very close to the addict. One limitation of the strategy is that it can fail if communication between the patient and family members or the community is poor.
Through reality therapy, individuals can be encouraged to choose to enhance their lives by promising to change their behavior on Internet use. This incorporates meetings to show those addicted that addiction is a choice and train them how to manage time.21 This is done by introducing alternative activities which help to keep the affected person busy and keep them off the problematic behavior.
An overall shortcoming of the above efforts is that they have not been applied in large scale. Further, some of the methods do not have scholarly research to support their application and efficacy. It is also unfortunate that no specific studies have been done to target intervention measures to save the American adolescents from Internet addiction. These efforts need to be backed through policy by the government and their use embraced to save adolescents from cyber addiction.
