Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25608605›Full record

ArticleBMC psychiatry2015

Natural course of behavioral addictions: a 5-year longitudinal study.

Barna Konkolÿ Thege, Erica M Woodin, David C Hodgins, Robert J Williams

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC psychiatry, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 52 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
52citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
18.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

52 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 168 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Treatment of Gaming Disorder in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review.Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2025
    Article
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Barna Konkolÿ ThegeDepartment of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada. bkonkoly@ucalgary.ca.
Erica M WoodinDepartment of Psychology, University of Victoria, PO Box 3050 STN CSC, Victoria, BC, V8W 3P5, Canada. ewoodin@uvic.ca.
David C HodginsDepartment of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada. dhodgins@ucalgary.ca.
Robert J WilliamsFaculty of Health Sciences, University of Lethbridge, 3017 Markin Hall, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada. robert.williams@uleth.ca.
University of Calgary · CAUniversity of Lethbridge · CAUniversity of Victoria · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundResolving the theoretical controversy on the labeling of an increasing number of excessive behaviors as behavioral addictions may also be facilitated by more empirical data on these behavioral problems. For instance, an essential issue to the classification of psychiatric disorders is information on their natural course. However, longitudinal research on the chronic vs. episodic nature of behavioral addictions is scarce. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to provide data on prevalence, substance use comorbidity, and five-year trajectories of six excessive behaviors-namely exercising, sexual behavior, shopping, online chatting, video gaming, and eating.

methodsAnalyses were based on the data of the Quinte Longitudinal Study, where a cohort of 4,121 adults from Ontario, Canada was followed for 5 years (2006 to 2011). The response rate was 21.3%, while retention rate was 93.9%. To assess the occurrence of each problem behavior, a single self-diagnostic question asked people whether their over-involvement in the behavior had caused significant problems for them in the past 12 months. To assess the severity of each problem behavior reported, the Behavioral Addiction Measure was administered. A mixed design ANOVA was used to investigate symptom trajectories over time for each problem behavior and whether these symptom trajectories varied as a function of sex.

resultsThe large majority of people reported having problematic over-involvement for just one of these behaviors and just in a single time period. A main effect of time was found for each problem behavior, indicating a moderately strong decrease in symptom severity across time. The time x sex interaction was insignificant in each model indicating that the decreasing trend is similar for males and females. The data also showed that help seeking was very low in the case of excessive sexual behavior, shopping, online chatting, and video gaming but substantially more prevalent in the case of excessive eating and exercising.

conclusionsThe present results indicate that self-identified excessive exercising, sexual behavior, shopping, online chatting, video gaming, and/or eating tend to be fairly transient for most people. This aspect of the results is inconsistent with conceptualizations of addictions as progressive in nature, unless treated.

Indexed as

Analysis of VarianceBehavior, AddictiveCommerceComorbidityExerciseFeeding BehaviorFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedOntarioPrevalenceSexual BehaviorSocial MediaSubstance-Related Disorders

Identifiers

PMID25608605
PMCPMC4320621
OpenAlexW2065284074

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.