Effects of cognitive reappraisal on gaming craving and inhibitory control in adolescents with internet gaming disorder.

Objective: According to the dual-system theory of addiction, increased gaming craving and diminished inhibitory control constitute the core mechanisms underlying internet gaming disorder (IGD). However, developing effective interventions targeting these mechanisms remains challenging. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of cognitive reappraisal strategies on gaming craving and inhibitory control in adolescents with IGD.

Method: Experiment 1 recruited 60 adolescents with IGD (M_age ± SE = 15.58 ± 0.12, all male and of Asian descent), employing a cue-reactivity paradigm to examine whether cognitive reappraisal reduced gaming craving. Fifty-one of these participants returned for Experiment 2 1 week later, where a context-dependent Go/No-go task was utilized to assess the impact of cognitive reappraisal on inhibitory control.

Results: Experiment 1 revealed that the reappraisal group exhibited significantly lower gaming cravings than the immersion group. Experiment 2 demonstrated that in gaming-cue contexts, the reappraisal group achieved significantly higher No-go accuracy than the immersion group. However, no significant differences emerged between the groups in No-go accuracy under neutral contexts or in Go trial reaction times across conditions.

Conclusions: This study indicates the effectiveness of cognitive reappraisal in gaming craving reduction and enhances cue-specific inhibitory control in adolescents with IGD but does not improve general inhibitory capacity or executive function. This research empirically validates the dual-system theory from the perspective of emotion regulation and provides intervention implications for IGD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).