Effects of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Based Music Therapy in Korean Adolescents with Smartphone and Internet Addiction

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of adding music therapy (MT) to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) on symptoms of smartphone/internet addiction and psychiatric comorbidities. METHODS: Overall, 155 patients diagnosed with addiction were assigned to either the CBT-MT group or CBT group. Both groups received CBT for 8 weeks, while the CBT-MT group received additional MT. The intervention was completed by 67 and 71 participants in the CBT-MT and CBT groups, respectively. RESULTS: The total scores of Young Internet Addiction Scale (YIAT) and Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale (SAPS) decreased significantly (p<0.001 for both) in both groups, while the total scores of State Anxiety Inventory for Children (SAIC) (p<0.001), Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (TAIC) (p<0.001), Conners-Wells’ Adolescent Self-Report Scale-Short form (CASS(S)) (p=0.048), and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11) (p<0.001) decreased only in the CBT-MT group. The decrements in YIAT (p=0.025), SAIC (p=0.043), TAIC (p=0.011), and BIS-11 (p=0.012) in the CBT-MT group were significantly greater than those in the CBT group. CONCLUSION: Combined MT and CBT improved the symptoms of smartphone/internet addiction, anxiety, and impulsivity in adolescents. This combination could therefore be an effective treatment of smartphone or internet addiction along with behavioral disorders such as anxiety and impulsivity.