The influence of college students' "Wan Geng" motivation on emotion regulation self-efficacy.

Excessive internet and gaming use has emerged as a major public health concern because of its adverse effects on physical health, mental health, and social functioning of young people., , In Japan, problematic internet use (PIU) is highly prevalent and has been linked to sleep disturbances, mental health problems, and social withdrawal., , The problem has been further exacerbated by increasingly early and intensive digital exposure, highlighting the urgent need for effective countermeasures. In response, Kagawa Prefecture in Japan established the “Internet and Game Addiction Countermeasures Ordinance” in 2020. However, the ordinance faced criticism regarding political intervention in family affairs and children's rights, and alternative countermeasures have not yet been sufficiently implemented. Various interventions for PIU, including cognitive‐behavioral therapy (CBT) and family therapy, have been introduced. More recently, residential treatment camps have attracted considerable attention. Previous studies have demonstrated that participation in such camps may reduce adolescents' internet dependency. PIU is known to impose substantial psychological burdens on young people and their families, particularly parents. In addition, parental attitudes and psychological states are important factors influencing children's prognoses., , , , Nevertheless, longitudinal evidence regarding the effects of residential treatment camps on parents themselves remains extremely limited. To date, the only longitudinal study examining the effects of treatment camps on parents themselves is the 7‐day “Siriraj Therapeutic Residential Camps” for adolescents with PIU. Although the study followed families for 6 months, the evaluation focused primarily on adolescents' PIU severity, and changes in parental psychological outcomes were not assessed. The present study is a secondary analysis of the effectiveness of a residential treatment camp conducted in Kagawa Prefecture, as reported by Suzuki et al. In this study, we aimed to examine the effects of residential treatment camps on parents' mental health, parenting attitudes, and perceptions of their children using quantitative and qualitative indicators. To date, most research on treatment camp‐based interventions has mainly focused on changes in adolescents' PIU symptoms, whereas psychological and cognitive changes in parents have received limited attention. Furthermore, no previous study has longitudinally examined the changes in parents' mental health and parenting attitudes by integrating quantitative and qualitative data. Given the limited prior evidence in this area, the present study was exploratory rather than confirmatory, and no formal a priori hypotheses were specified.