The effectiveness of WeChat public account intervention based on the IMB model among college students with internet addiction: a randomized controlled trial (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Over the years, domestic and foreign scholars in different fields have carried out a large number of studies on the intervention methods of Internet addiction, mainly including Group counseling, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, psychological health education, sports therapy, acupuncture, pharmacotherapy, and comprehensive intervention. However, these interventions face significant challenges in scalability and accessibility due to constraints posed by time, space, participant numbers, cost, and privacy concerns. OBJECTIVE This study examines the effect of WeChat public accounts intervention based on the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model (IMB) model to improve internet addiction in college students as well as the potential mechanism of action that causes changes in addictive behaviors. METHODS We recruited 226 internet-addicted college students, randomly assigning them to an intervention (n=113) or control group (n=113), with gender as the stratification factor. The intervention group underwent a structured, six-week program leveraging WeChat public accounts intervention, while the control group continued their regular routines without intervention. Pre-intervention data were subjected to statistical comparison using independent samples t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and chi-square (2) test. To evaluate the intervention's effects and identify pre- to post-intervention changes, we utilized Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMM) and Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) for analysis with SPSS 23.0, considering statistical significance at α = 0.05. RESULTS The intervention group showed significant improvement in internet addiction (2=14.154, P<0.001). GLMM analysis confirmed a substantial reduction in addiction levels post-intervention compared to the control group (adjusted mean change: -4.531, 95%CI: -7.281 to -1.781, P=0.001), with no significant differences in internet usage time. GEE analysis revealed a significant interaction effect of time and group on sleep duration (P<0.001) with the intervention group showing a significant increase post-intervention (OR=2.186, 95%CI: 1.142 to 4.183, P=0.018). No significant differences were observed between the groups in sleep quality and somatic-psychological symptoms. The intervention group showed increased motivation (adjusted mean change: 4.283, 95%CI: 0.804 to 7.763, P=0.016) and behavioral skills (adjusted mean change: 3.407, 95%CI: 1.771 to 5.043, P<0.001) post-intervention. CONCLUSIONS The WeChat public accounts intervention based on the IMB mode can significantly reduce the level of internet addiction in college students and simultaneously have a positive effect on increasing sleep duration.