Journal of Behavioral Addictions
Volume/Issue:
Volume 4: Issue 3
Commentary on: Are we overpathologizing everyday life? A tenable blueprint for behavioral addiction research
Author:
Alexander Blaszczynski School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Search for other papers by Alexander Blaszczynski in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Pages:
142–144
Online Publication Date:
Sep 2015
Publication Date:
01 Sep 2015
Article Category:
Article Commentary
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.4.2015.016
Keywords:
behavioral addictions; mental health; DSM-5; excessive behaviors
Open access

This commentary supports the argument that there is an increasing tendency to subsume a range of excessive daily behaviors under the rubric of non-substance related behavioral addictions. The concept of behavioral addictions gained momentum in the 1990s with the recent reclassification of pathological gambling as a non-substance behavioral addiction in DSM-5 accelerating this process. The propensity to label a host of normal behaviors carried out to excess as pathological based simply on phenomenological similarities to addictive disorders will ultimately undermine the credibility of behavioral addiction as a valid construct. From a scientific perspective, anecdotal observation followed by the subsequent modification of the wording of existing substance dependence diagnostic criteria, and then searching for biopsychosocial correlates to justify classifying an excessive behavior resulting in harm as an addiction falls far short of accepted taxonomic standards. The differentiation of normal from non-substance addictive behaviors ought to be grounded in sound conceptual, theoretical and empirical methodologies. There are other more parsimonious explanations accounting for such behaviors. Consideration needs to be given to excluding the possibility that excessive behaviors are due to situational environmental/social factors, or symptomatic of an existing affective disorder such as depression or personality traits characteristic of cluster B personalities (namely, impulsivity) rather than the advocating for the establishment of new disorders.

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders– fifth edition. WashingtonD.C.: American Psychiatric Association.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Atroszko, P. A., Andreassen, C. S., Griffiths, M. D. & Palleson, S. (2015). Study addiction — A new area of psychology study: Conceptualization, assessment, and preliminary empirical findings. Journal of Behavioural Addictions. doi: 10.1556/2006.4.2015.007

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Bianchi, A. & Phillips, J. (2005). Psychological predictors of problem mobile phone use. CyberPsychology and Behaviour, 8(1), 39–51.

  • Billieux, J., Maurage, P., Fernandez-Lopez, O., Kuss, D. J. & Griffiths, M. D. (2015). Can disordered mobile phone use be considered a behavioral addiction? An update on current evidence and a comprehensive model for future research. Current AddictionReport, 2, 156–162.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Billieux, J., Schimmenti, A., Khazaal., Y., Maurage, P. & Heeren, A. (2015). Are we overpathologizing everyday life? A tenable blueprint for behavioural addiction research. Journal of BehaviouralAddictions, 4, 119–123.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Blaszczynski, A., Walker, M., Sharpe, L. & Nower, L. (2008). Withdrawal and tolerance phenomenon in problem gambling. International Gambling Studies, 8(2), 181–194.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Coeffec, A., Romo, L., Cheze, N., Riasuelo, H., Plantey, S., Kotbagi, G. & Kern, L. (2015). Early substance consumption and problematic use of video games in adolescence. Frontiers inScience. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00501

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Grall-Bonnec, M., Bulteau, S., Victorri-Vigneau, C., Bouju, G. & Sauvaget, A. (2015). Fortune telling addiction: Unfortunately a serious topic about a case report. Journal of Behavioural Addictions, 4(1), 27–31.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Grant, J. E. & Chamberlain, S. R. (2015). Gambling disorder and its relationship with substance use disorders: Implications for nosological revisions and treatment. The American Journal ofAddictions, 24, 126–131.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Griffiths, M. D. (2015). Child at heart: A brief look at ‘IVF addiction’. https://drmarkgriffiths.wordpress.com/?s=IVF. (Retrieved4 June 2015)

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Griffiths, M. D. (2015). Water feature: A brief look at psychogenic polydipsia, hyponatraemia, and ‘aquaholism’. https://drmarkgriffiths.wordpress.com/2015/05/26/water-feature-a-brief-lookat-psychogenic-polydipsia-hyponatraemia-and-aquaholism/. (Retrieved 4 June 2015)

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Jap, T., Tiatri, S., Jaya, E. S. & Suteja, M. S. (2013). The development of Indonesian online game addiction questionnaire. PLOSOne. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0061098

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Lesieur, H. & Rosenthal, R. (1991) Pathological gambling: A review of the literature (prepared for the American Psychiatric Association Task Force on DSM-IV committee on disorders of impulse control not elsewhere classified). Journal of GamblingStudies, 7, 5–40.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Lin, Y-H., Chang, L-R., Lee, Y-H., Tseng, H-W., Kuo, T. B. J. & Chen, S-H. (2014). Development and validation of the smartphone addiction inventory. PLOS One. doi: 10.1371ljournal.pone.0098312

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Maraz, A., Urban, R., Griffiths, M. D. & Demetrovics, Z. (2015). An empirical investigation of dance addiction. PLOS One. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0125988

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Marks, I. (1990). Behavioural (non-chemical) addictions. British Journal of Addiction, 85, 1389–1394.

  • McElroy, S. L., Hudson, J. I., Pope, H. G., Keck, P. E. & Aizley, H. G. (1992). The DSM-III-R impulse control disorders not elsewhere classified: Clinical characteristics and relationship to other psychiatric disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 149(3), 318–327.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Muller, A., Mitchell, J. E. & de Zwaan, M. (2015). Compulsive buying. The American Journal on Addictions, 24, 132–137.

  • Online Etymology Dictionary. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=addict (Retrieved day Month 2015)

  • Oxford Dictionary. (1978). The Concise Oxford Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  • Schulte, E. M., Avena, N. M. & Gearhardt, A. N. (2015). Which food may be addictive? The roles of processing, fat content, and glycemic load. PLOS One. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0117959

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Targhetta, R., Nalpas, B. & Perney, P. (2013). Argentine tango: Another behavioural addiction. Journal of Behavioural Addictions, 2(3), 179–186.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Young, K. S. (1998). Internet addiction: The emergence of a new clinical disorder. CyberPsychology and Behaviour, 1, 237–244.

  • Collapse
  • Expand
Cover Journal of Behavioral Addictions
Journal of Behavioral Addictions
Print ISSN:
2062-5871
Online ISSN:
2063-5303

Dr. Zsolt Demetrovics
Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University
Address: Izabella u. 46. H-1064 Budapest, Hungary
Phone: +36-1-461-2681
E-mail: jba@ppk.elte.hu

Indexing and Abstracting Services:

  • Web of Science [Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch®)
  • Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition
  • Social Sciences Citation Index®
  • Journal Citation Reports/ Social Sciences Edition
  • Current Contents®/Social and Behavioral Sciences
  • EBSCO
  • GoogleScholar
  • PsycINFO
  • PubMed Central
  • SCOPUS
  • Medline
  • CABI
  • CABELLS Journalytics

2024  
Scopus  
CiteScore  
CiteScore rank  
SNIP  
Scimago  
SJR index 2.26
SJR Q rank Q1

2023  
Web of Science  
Journal Impact Factor 6.6
Rank by Impact Factor Q1 (Psychiatry)
Journal Citation Indicator 1.59
Scopus  
CiteScore 12.3
CiteScore rank Q1 (Clinical Psychology)
SNIP 1.604
Scimago  
SJR index 2.188
SJR Q rank Q1

Journal of Behavioral Addictions
Publication Model Gold Open Access
Submission Fee none
Article Processing Charge 990 EUR/article
Effective from  1st Feb 2025:
1400 EUR/article
Regional discounts on country of the funding agency World Bank Lower-middle-income economies: 50%
World Bank Low-income economies: 100%
Further Discounts Corresponding authors, affiliated to an EISZ member institution subscribing to the journal package of Akadémiai Kiadó: 100%.
Subscription Information Gold Open Access

Journal of Behavioral Addictions
Language English
Size A4
Year of
Foundation		 2011
Volumes
per Year		 1
Issues
per Year		 4
Founder Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem
Founder's
Address		 H-1053 Budapest, Hungary Egyetem tér 1-3.
Publisher Akadémiai Kiadó
Publisher's
Address		 H-1117 Budapest, Hungary 1516 Budapest, PO Box 245.
Responsible
Publisher		 Chief Executive Officer, Akadémiai Kiadó
ISSN 2062-5871 (Print)
ISSN 2063-5303 (Online)

Senior editors

Editor(s)-in-Chief: Zsolt DEMETROVICS

Assistant Editor(s): 

Csilla ÁGOSTON

Dana KATZ

Associate Editors

  • Stephanie ANTONS (Universitat Duisburg-Essen, Germany)
  • Joel BILLIEUX (University of Lausanne, Switzerland)
  • Beáta BŐTHE (University of Montreal, Canada)
  • Matthias BRAND (University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany)
  • Daniel KING (Flinders University, Australia)
  • Gyöngyi KÖKÖNYEI (ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary)
  • Ludwig KRAUS (IFT Institute for Therapy Research, Germany)
  • Marc N. POTENZA (Yale University, USA)
  • Hans-Jurgen RUMPF (University of Lübeck, Germany)
  • Ruth J. VAN HOLST (Amsterdam UMC, The Netherlands)

Editorial Board

  • Sophia ACHAB (Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland)
  • Alex BALDACCHINO (St Andrews University, United Kingdom)
  • Judit BALÁZS (ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary)
  • Maria BELLRINGER (Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand)
  • Henrietta BOWDEN-JONES (Imperial College, United Kingdom)
  • Damien BREVERS (University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg)
  • Julius BURKAUSKAS (Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Lithuania)
  • Gerhard BÜHRINGER (Technische Universität Dresden, Germany)
  • Silvia CASALE (University of Florence, Florence, Italy)
  • Luke CLARK (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada)
  • Jeffrey L. DEREVENSKY (McGill University, Canada)
  • Geert DOM (University of Antwerp, Belgium)
  • Nicki DOWLING (Deakin University, Geelong, Australia)
  • Hamed EKHTIARI (University of Minnesota, United States)
  • Jon ELHAI (University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, USA)
  • Ana ESTEVEZ (University of Deusto, Spain)
  • Fernando FERNANDEZ-ARANDA (Bellvitge University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain)
  • Naomi FINEBERG (University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom)
  • Sally GAINSBURY (The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia)
  • Belle GAVRIEL-FRIED (The Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Israel)
  • Biljana GJONESKA (Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Republic of North Macedonia)
  • Marie GRALL-BRONNEC (University Hospital of Nantes, France)
  • Jon E. GRANT (University of Minnesota, USA)
  • Mark GRIFFITHS (Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom)
  • Joshua GRUBBS (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA)
  • Anneke GOUDRIAAN (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
  • Susumu HIGUCHI (National Hospital Organization Kurihama Medical and Addiction Center, Japan)
  • David HODGINS (University of Calgary, Canada)
  • Eric HOLLANDER (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA)
  • Zsolt HORVÁTH (Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary)
  • Susana JIMÉNEZ-MURCIA (Clinical Psychology Unit, Bellvitge University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain)
  • Yasser KHAZAAL (Geneva University Hospital, Switzerland)
  • Orsolya KIRÁLY (Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary)
  • Chih-Hung KO (Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan)
  • Shane KRAUS (University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, USA)
  • Hae Kook LEE (The Catholic University of Korea, Republic of Korea)
  • Bernadette KUN (Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary)
  • Katerina LUKAVSKA (Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic)
  • Giovanni MARTINOTTI (‘Gabriele d’Annunzio’ University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy)
  • Gemma MESTRE-BACH (Universidad Internacional de la Rioja, La Rioja, Spain)
  • Astrid MÜLLER (Hannover Medical School, Germany)
  • Daniel Thor OLASON (University of Iceland, Iceland)
  • Ståle PALLESEN (University of Bergen, Norway)
  • Afarin RAHIMI-MOVAGHAR (Teheran University of Medical Sciences, Iran)
  • József RÁCZ (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary)
  • Michael SCHAUB (University of Zurich, Switzerland)
  • Marcantanio M. SPADA (London South Bank University, United Kingdom)
  • Daniel SPRITZER (Study Group on Technological Addictions, Brazil)
  • Dan J. STEIN (University of Cape Town, South Africa)
  • Sherry H. STEWART (Dalhousie University, Canada)
  • Attila SZABÓ (Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary)
  • Hermano TAVARES (Instituto de Psiquiatria do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil)
  • Wim VAN DEN BRINK (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
  • Alexander E. VOISKOUNSKY (Moscow State University, Russia)
  • Aviv M. WEINSTEIN (Ariel University, Israel)
  • Anise WU (University of Macau, Macao, China)
  • Ágnes ZSILA (ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary)

 

Monthly Content Usage

Abstract Views Full Text Views PDF Downloads