ReviewAnnual review of clinical psychology2018
Behavioral Addictions as Mental Disorders: To Be or Not To Be?
Review in Annual review of clinical psychology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 96 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
96 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 235 citations in OpenAlex.
- Stigma in substance-based and behavioural addictions: A systematic review.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2025Pooled it
- Dropout from face-to-face, multi-session psychological treatments for problem and disordered gambling: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2021Pooled it
- Smartphone Addiction and Associated Health Outcomes in Adult Populations: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Food addiction and psychiatric comorbidities: a review of current evidence.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2021Pooled it
- Work addiction and personality: A meta-analytic study.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2020Pooled it
- Conduct problems and depressive symptoms in association with problem gambling and gaming: A systematic review.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2020Pooled it
- Shared gray matter alterations in individuals with diverse behavioral addictions: A voxel-wise meta-analysis.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2020Pooled it
- Problematic Online Gaming and Gambling Among First-Year University Students: Identification of Profiles and Psychological Vulnerabilities.Journal of gambling studies · 2026Article
- Using Machine Learning with the Brief Symptom Inventory to Screen for Comorbid Addictions: A Proof-of-Principle Study.European addiction research · 2026Article
- Examining the Association Between Internet Addiction and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Among Chinese Middle School Students: Prospective Cohort Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Building a Brief Multidomain Questionnaire for Gambling Dual Disorder: Psychometric Validation and RDoC-Based Dimensional Structure.International journal of methods in psychiatric research · 2026Article
- Social Media Usage and Its Association With the Social Media Addiction Questionnaire Scale Among Early Adolescents.JAACAP open · 2026Article
- Family Factors Associated With Excessive Online Activity Among Adolescents: A Latent Class Analysis of Cross-Sectional Data.Europe's journal of psychology · 2026Article
- Spatio-temporal differences in EEG dynamics during decision-making between online poker players with moderate-risk and high-risk gambling activity.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Substance and Behavioural Addictions Among Evacuees: Findings From Israeli Swords of Iron War.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2026Article
- Comparing the Associations of Internet Addiction and Internet Gaming Disorder With Psychopathological Symptoms: Cross-Sectional Study of Three Independent Adolescent Samples.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Early Maladaptive Schemas, Psychopathological Symptoms, and Behavioral Addictions in Adolescent Population.European addiction research · 2026Article
- Addiction spectrum disorder: a conceptual framework for comprehensive understanding of addictive disorders.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Medial nucleus accumbens dopamine receptors modulate motivation for wheel running in male mice.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Article
36 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Should excessive and problematic engagement in nonsubstance use behaviors be mental disorders? The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) repositioned gambling disorder in the substance use disorders section and introduced Internet gaming disorder in the research appendix; the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) is also considering it. This article outlines pros and cons of considering behavioral addictions as mental disorders and also reviews the DSM-5 decision-making processes. It focuses on three conditions: gambling disorder, Internet gaming disorder (IGD), and Internet addiction (IA). We detail assessment methods and prevalence rates for these conditions and outline psychiatric comorbidities, demographic and biological risk factors, and promising treatment approaches. We also briefly discuss other putative behavioral addictions: eating/food, sex, exercise, shopping, and tanning "addictions." Overall, data are inconclusive, and consistent terminology and methodology are needed to define and evaluate these conditions more fully prior to considering them mental disorders.
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.