4-STEP Training Program for Social Media Addiction, Cognitive Fatigue, Psychological Distress, Academic Burnout and Procrastination Among Students

This study, titled "A 4-Step Training Program for Social Media Addiction, Cognitive Fatigue, Procrastination, Academic Burnout, and Psychological Distress among School and University Students," aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured four-step training program in reducing social media addiction and its associated psychological and academic difficulties. The target population will consist of N = 400 school and university students. From the eligible participants, Participants will be divided into experimental and control groups, with 20 participants in each group from the school population and 20 participants in each group from the university population. The experimental groups will receive a structured four-step training program over four weeks, while the control groups will not receive the training intervention during the study period. Participants will be assessed at pre-test and post-test using standardized measures of social media addiction, cognitive fatigue, procrastination, academic burnout, and psychological distress. Data will be analyzed using SPSS, including descriptive and inferential statistical analyses to examine changes from pre-test to post-test and differences between the experimental and control groups.

• 4-STEP-TPS (Behavioral): Behavioral: 4-STEP-Training Program for Social Media Addiction (4-STEP-TPS) 4 Modules with 1 Module being delivered in 1 weekly session of approximately 90 minutes. The details of each module/step is described as follows: Step 1. (Module 1): S = Screening, Assessment and Psychoeducation: Involves screening and assessment of the problem, interpretation of the results, feedback and psychoeducation, identifying and breaking the resistance, motivation, and conceptualization. Step 2. (Module 2): T = Treatment Conceptualization and Planning: Involves pattern identification, distortion identification, as well as pattern and distortions modifications. Step 3 (Module 3): E = Effective Management Strategies: Involves management strategies to treat the earlier identified patterns as well as the implementation and confirmation of activities via a Pattern Schedule Chart. Step 4 (Module 4): P = Prevention (Lapse-Relapse): Involves self-reflection and support building, monitoring and dependency check a

Primary outcomes

• Social Networking Addiction Scale ( SNAS) [At screening after 4 weeks, and reassessment upto 6 months]: The SNA scale is designed to measure the level of social media addiction. The SNA scale is comprised of six subscales, namely salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse (citation). Each subscale has 3 to 4 items, and each item is rated between "strongly disagree=1" and score>84 reported social media addiction. The scale has shown a strong test-retest reliability of 0.88 and good validity, as reported by Shahnawaz and Rehman (2020).
• Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory [At screening after 4 weeks, reassessment up to 6 months]]: Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20) is a 20-item self-report instrument developed to assess fatigue as a multidimensional construct. It measures five dimensions of fatigue: general fatigue, physical fatigue, reduced activity, reduced motivation, and mental fatigue, with each dimension consisting of four items. Higher scores indicate greater levels of fatigue (Westenberger et al. 2022).
• Maslach Burnout Inventory [At screening upto 4 weeks and reassessment up to 6 months]: The Mashlach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is a widely used self-report instrument for assessing burnout. It measures burnout across three core dimensions: Exhaustion (EX), Cynicism (CY), and Academic Efficacy (AE). In the present study, the 16-item version of the MBI was used to a
• Tukman Procrastination Scale [At screening, after 4 weeks, and reassessment up to 6 months]: Tuckman Procrastination Scale (TPS) is a self-report measure designed to assess an individual's tendency to delay or postpone tasks that need to be completed. It is used to evaluate procrastination behavior, particularly the tendency to avoid or delay academic tasks despite their importance. In the present study, the scale was used to assess academic procrastination, including the dimensions of Delay Procrastination and Avoidance of Difficulty(Avşar, Baltaci, and Özer 2026).
• Depression Anxiety Stress Scale [At screening, after 4 weeks, and reassessment up to 6 months]: Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) is a 21-item self-report instrument designed to assess three dimensions of negative emotional states: depression, anxiety, and stress, with seven items representing each dimension (Gomez, Stavropoulos, and Griffiths 2020)

Sex: All, ages: 18 Years to 25 Years, accepts healthy volunteers

Inclusion Criteria:

* • Age range: 18-29 years

  * No physical, psychiatric, or psychological conditions
  * Minimum score of 84 on the Social Networking Addiction Scale (SNAS)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Age below 18 or above 29 years

  * Presence of any physical, psychiatric, or psychological conditions
  * Score below 84 on the Social Networking Addiction Scale (SNAS)

• Qasir Abbas, Phd, Clinical Psychology, Principal investigator, Government College University Faisalabad