Browse Our Latest Psychology and Behavioral Science Journals
Psychological journals are peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journals that publish original work in some areas of psychology. The most common publications include cognitive, health and clinical psychology, applied, developmental, biological, social, experimental, and educational psychology, and psychoanalysis.
Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
Introduction
Problematic pornography use (PPU) affects some individuals, causing distress and impaired functioning, and while psychotherapy is considered a first-line intervention, its efficacy remains understudied and unknown to many therapists. This review aimed to comprehensively synthesize the available evidence on psychotherapy for PPU and related problems (i.e., craving).
Methods
For this meta-analytic systematic review, we conducted a systematic literature search, followed by study selection, coding, and data extraction. We then meta-analyzed the resulting studies using a random-effects model with subgroup analyses, meta-regressions, and risk of bias assessments.
Results
20 studies with 2,021 participants met the inclusion criteria. Most studies included cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy interventions. Participants receiving psychotherapy improved significantly more than controls on PPU, frequency/duration of pornography use, and sexual compulsivity, with large effect sizes, that were small for craving. Within-subject effects were also large and stable at follow-up. In addition, single-case designs meta-analyses showed clinically significant reductions in PPU, craving, and frequency/duration. We identified moderate effects for related depression symptoms. Most subgroup and meta-regression analyses adjusting for treatment and sample characteristics were not significant.
Discussion
These results supports the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy in treating PPU and related problems. This has relevant implications for clinical practice (e.g., treating these problems with evidence-based interventions). However, these findings are limited by methodological issues, including the high risk of bias identified. To address these limitations, future research should use more rigorous methods (e.g., randomized controlled trials) and include more diverse groups.
Abstract
Background and aims
Problematic mobile phone use can disrupt social interaction and well-being, potentially influencing cognitive processes. This study investigated whether mobile phone use problem severity is associated with alterations in the topological organization of brain networks.
Methods
Rs-fMRI and DTI data were collected from 81 healthy participants. Graph theory analyses were applied. The Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale-10 (MPPUS-10) was used to assess mobile phone use problem severity. Correlation analyses were conducted between each graph metric and questionnaire scores.
Results
MPPUS-10 scores correlated with global fMRI metrics: higher scores linked to longer shortest path length (reduced integration) and lower global efficiency (reduced information transfer). Conversely, higher MPPUS-10 scores were correlated with a greater clustering coefficient and higher local efficiency, which reflect increased local connectivity. Furthermore, higher MPPUS-10 scores were associated with a higher sigma value from DTI, indicating altered structural network properties. Some specific brain regions also showed significant correlations with MPPUS-10 scores.
Discussion and conclusion
These findings indicate that higher mobile phone use problem severity is associated with decreased integration and increased segregation of functional networks, alongside enhanced small-worldness in structural networks. Reduced integration aligns with addiction theories suggesting digital overload worsens network dysfunction, disrupting brain connectivity. Additionally, higher severity was correlated with altered connectivity in multiple regions, such as the precentral gyrus, supplementary motor area, and postcentral gyrus. These regions are associated with motor control, sensorimotor processing, and memory function. Further research is needed to explore whether these findings reflect shifts in the integration and integrity of brain information-processing modules.
Abstract
Background and aims
Gambling disorder (GD) is a behavioral addiction often co-occurring with various mental health concerns, such as problematic pornography use (PPU). The specific impact of the co-occurrence of GD and PPU on treatment outcome remains underexplored. This study aimed to compare the treatment outcomes of individuals actively receiving treatment for GD (n = 172; 3.49% females), distinguishing between those without PPU (n = 146) and those with co-occurring GD and PPU (n = 26).
Methods
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) was administered in 16 weekly sessions, with assessments of GD severity, impulsivity, emotion regulation, psychopathology, and personality. Dropout, relapses, number of sessions attended, number of relapses, and amount of money spent during relapses were assessed as the main treatment outcomes.
Results
Patients with co-occurring GD and PPU showed greater GD severity, psychopathology, impulsivity, and difficulties in emotional regulation compared to those with GD and without PPU. Moreover, the presence of PPU appeared to be mainly associated with higher likelihood of treatment dropout, and, consequently, fewer CBT sessions attended.
Discussion and Conclusions
It is important to evaluate GD/PPU co-occurrence and strengthen the CBT approach for GD patients with PPU by using supplementary strategies to improve treatment adherence.
Entity and environment relationships in psychedelic experiences resulting from inhalation of N,N-dimethyltryptamine
DMT entities and their environments
Abstract
Aim
Gaining a more detailed understanding of the patterns of relationship of the content of psychedelic experiences can help build a deeper understanding of the nature of consciousness and assist in navigating those extraordinary experiences for therapeutic, spiritual, exploratory and creative purposes. To help achieve this goal, this study examines the patterns of relationship between Entities and Environments found in narratives of complex psychedelic experiences resulting from smoking N,N-dimethyltryptamine.
Methods
The narrative accounts examined in this study were drawn from a variety of online sites and were analyzed in order to examine the patterns of relationships between different types of Entities and Environments encountered during psychedelic experiences resulting from inhalation of N,N-dimethyltryptamine. In this study different types of Entities were identified and charted in relation to the frequency of the different Environments they appeared within.
Results
Some consistency was found in encounters described with Entities and the Environments they appeared within. Various types of Entities were encountered with greater frequency in some Environments and various Environments had unique mixtures of dominant and less common varieties of Entities.
Conclusions
This study helps advance our understanding of the subjective psychedelic experiences resulting from ingestion of DMT. It reveals some of the distinct relationships between Entities and the Environments in which they appeared and provides a framework for developing a predictive model of those relationships and the progression of those psychedelic experiences.
Abstract
Background and Aims
Digital media have become a fundamental aspect of daily life for children and adolescents, influencing cognitive, emotional, and social development. The present work explores the dual nature of digital media use, identifying both positive and negative impacts on well-being and development.
Methods
A comprehensive review of existing literature was conducted to explore the interplay between digital media use and its effects on child and adolescent well-being. The study employs the Digital Media-use Effects (d-MUsE) model to analyze psychological mechanisms and contextual factors mediating these effects.
Results
Functional media use promotes positive mental, physical, and social outcomes, while dysfunctional use is linked to negative psychological consequences, such as increased anxiety, depression, and social isolation. The proposed d-MUsE model highlights the interplay of psychological mechanisms and contextual factors—both proximal and distal—that mediate the effects of digital media on short- and long-term well-being.
Discussion
The present work endeavours to refine our existing comprehension of the intricate interplay of elements and mechanisms underpinning functional and dysfunctional employment of digital media. Prospective research trajectories, which spotlight factors that hitherto remained at the periphery of investigative scrutiny, find discourse in this synthesis.
Abstract
Background and aims
The Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model of behavioral addictions is used relatively often as a scientific framework to specify research hypotheses and to interpret empirical findings in behavioral addiction research. There are, however, controversial interpretations in the literature regarding some specific elements of the model, which may require a more precise definition of specific constructs and processes that are central to the I-PACE model.
Methods
This is neither a comprehensive literature review nor a proposal for a new version of the I-PACE model. We aim to provide a selective, critical evaluation of some interpretations of the model and to include recent developments regarding addiction theories and controversial debates.
Results
The role of gratification and compensation and therefore positive and negative reinforcement are specified. The concepts of cue-reactivity and craving are considered in the context of desire thinking and permissive beliefs. The relationships between impulsive, habitual, and compulsive behaviors in behavioral addictions are discussed. The effects of general self-control and situation-specific executive functions are elaborated. Punishment (in)sensitivity is discussed as a further important process potentially involved in behavioral addictions. These constructs and processes (through their interactions) are considered in the context of changes over time in the course of addictive behaviors.
Conclusion
This viewpoint article aims to provide greater precision and clarity regarding some specific elements of the I-PACE model, which may help stimulate research and theory building and advance clinical care in the behavioral addiction field.
Abstract
Background and aims
Despite the inclusion of Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD) in the ICD-11, there are many open questions on its neuronal pathogenesis, especially regarding the role of the amygdala. In this study, we aimed to further unravel this issue via a parcellation method based on Recurrence Quantification Analysis (RQA).
Methods
The RQA pipeline was applied to resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 45 heterosexual males with CSBD and 26 Healthy Controls. Each amygdala was divided into two subdivisions in each group. In the CSBD group, the scores of psychological questionnaires were used as covariates in a second-level seed-to-voxel connectivity analysis with the amygdala as a region of interest.
Results
Obtained parcellations revealed bilateral differences in the sizes of dorsomedial (DM) and ventrolateral (VL) amygdala between groups. Mean values of Shannon's Entropy in the left DM and right VL amygdala correlated negatively with depression level, anxiety, and impulsivity, which might represent a vulnerability to CSBD, but only the right VL was implicated in the severity of CSBD symptoms. Multiple correlations between resting-state functional connectivity of the amygdala subdivisions and CSBD severity were observed, especially between the left VL amygdala and several default mode network nodes.
Discussion and Conclusions
This is the first attempt to explore the role of the amygdala in CSBD by a parcellation method. Our results suggest the importance of the right VL amygdala in understanding the pathogenesis of the severity of CSBD symptoms, which highlights the rising need to explore the amygdala as a complex structure with diverse functions.
Abstract
Behavioral addictions share symptomatological features with substance addiction. From the associative learning perspective, these characteristics include excessive and unregulated self-administration of sensory and other reinforcers, potentially reflecting the transition from goal-directed actions (action → outcome associations) to habitual responses (stimulus → response associations). In laboratory mice, light stimulation at an optimal intensity possesses some incentive properties and a brief light pulse represents an effective reinforcer for persistent operant responding. The operant light self-administration paradigm with clearly defined sensory reinforcers and reinforcement schedules may be utilized to elucidate the general mechanisms of excessive habitual responding to seek non-drug and non-feeding cues in mice. This cross-species approach can shed light on some maladaptive habits that have emerged recently in our modern society, including digital technology-based disorders.
Abstract
Background and aims
Problematic smartphone use are prevalent worldwide, particularly among adolescents, and it is strongly linked with aggressive behavior. However, the understanding of how PSU may contribute to the emergence of aggressive behavior remains incomplete.
Methods
The purpose of this study was to examine the bidirectional links between aggressive behavior and PSU among adolescents, utilizing data from a two-wave longitudinal study (the time interval is 15 months) conducted among 2,650 students in middle and high school.
Results
The cross-lagged models revealed that: (1) PSU at Time 1 (December 12) positively predicted aggressive behavior at Time 2 (March 2023, 15 months apart) among older adolescents (15–19 years), but this was not the case for younger adolescents (11–14 years); (2) aggressive behavior at Time 1 positively predicted PSU at Time 2 for both younger and older adolescents. Our findings have identified PSU as a risk factor for aggressive behavior among older adolescents, with those perceiving higher PSU may be particularly vulnerable to developing aggressive behavior over time.
Discussion and Conclusions
These results not only enhance our understanding of the links between PSU and aggressive behavior but also provide significant theoretical perspectives for developing future prevention strategies and intervention measures to tackle aggressive behavior among adolescents.
