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Behavioural Addiction: a Useful Construct?

  • Addictions (J Grant, Section Editor)
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Abstract

The concept of ‘addiction’ has long been used with reference to substance use disorders. There has, however, been growing interest in applying the term to other conditions, i.e. behavioural addictions, which are characterized by preoccupation with and decreased control over a range of behaviours other than substance intake that are rewarding but have adverse consequences. The best studied behavioural addiction, gambling disorder, is now included in DSM-5 under the rubric of substance-related and addictive disorders. In contrast, an ICD-11 proposal argues that pathological gambling continues to be classified as an impulse control disorder. Other putative behavioural addictions, such as compulsive sexual behaviour and internet gaming addiction, are equally controversial. Here, we review some of the relevant debates. We argue that while the construct of behavioural addiction may be useful in clinical practice and in research contexts, further work is needed to assess the extent of its diagnostic validity and clinical utility.

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Acknowledgments

Dan Stein and Christine Lochner are supported by the MRC Unit on Anxiety & Stress Disorders

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry & Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    Heidi Sinclair

  2. US/UCT MRC Unit on Anxiety & Stress Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Christine Lochner

  3. Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    Dan J. Stein

  4. US/UCT MRC Unit on Anxiety & Stress Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    Dan J. Stein

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  1. Heidi Sinclair
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Correspondence to Dan J. Stein.

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Conflict of Interest

Dr. Stein reports personal fees from Lundbeck, personal fees from Novartis, personal fees from AMBRF, other from NRGF, personal fees from SERVIER, personal fees from BIOCODEX, grants from MRC, personal fees from SUN and personal fees from CIPLA, outside the submitted work.

Dr. Heidi Sinclair and Dr. Christine Lochner declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Sinclair, H., Lochner, C. & Stein, D.J. Behavioural Addiction: a Useful Construct?. Curr Behav Neurosci Rep 3, 43–48 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40473-016-0067-4

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