the effectiveness of group cognitive‑behavioral therapy on general self‑efficacy, self‑control, and internet addiction prevalence among medical university students

introduction: various studies have highlighted the high prevalence of psychological and psychiatric problems among students with internet addiction (ia). this study aimed to determine the effect of gcbt on self-control, self-efficacy as well as the prevalence of ia amongst students of qazvin university of medical sciences (qums). methods: this randomized controlled trial was performed on 80 students addicted to the internet. participants were randomly divided into control (without intervention) and treatment group (gcbt). the experimental group participated in a gcbt program consisted of 10 two2-hour sessions based on psychosocial training, cognitive reconstruction, behavior modification, and improving emotion regulation. data were collected using demographic information, yang ia test, brief self-control scale, and compulsive iinternet usage scale before and 3 months after gcbt. results: the rfindings demonstrated significant improvements in general self-efficacy (21.90 ± 5.1-–27.31 ± 3.9, f = 46.131, df = 1, p 0.001) and self-control (33.03 ± 4.7-–44.78 ± 6.1, f = 59.252, df = 1, p 0.001), while compulsive internet usage (41.41 ± 6.35-–25.13 ± 3.97, f = 163.359, df = 1, p 0.001) and ia (60.83 ± 9.95-–36.10 ± 5.16, f = 183.302, df = 1, p 0.001) were remarkably reduced in the experimental group after gcbt. conclusion: this study suggests that gcbt can be an effective treatment for those college students struggling with ia, with improving the psychological variables affecting ia.