Examining the validity of the addictions neuroclinical assessment domains in a crowdsourced sample of adults with current alcohol use.

Several dimensional frameworks for characterizing heterogeneity in alcohol use disorder (AUD) have been proposed, including the Addictions Neuroclinical Assessment (ANA). The ANA is a framework for assessing individual variability within AUD across three domains corresponding to the proposed stages of the addiction cycle: reward (binge-intoxication stage), negative emotionality (withdrawal-negative affect stage), and cognitive control (preoccupation-anticipation stage). Recent work has evaluated the ANA's three-factor structure and construct validity, primarily in treatment-seekers with AUD. We extended this research by examining the factor structure, bias across alcohol use severity, longitudinal invariance, and concurrent and predictive validity of a novel assessment of the ANA domains in adults with past 12-month regular (10 + alcohol units/week) alcohol use. Participants recruited from Prolific (N = 732), a crowdsourced data collection platform, completed various self-report measures. A test-retest subsample (n = 234) completed these measures 30 days later. Split-half exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor structure of the ANA. The overall factor structure was invariant across 30 days. Concurrently and prospectively, ANA domains demonstrated convergent validity concerning theoretically aligned alcohol-related, psychological, and personality measures. However, there was evidence of poor discriminant validity, and several cognitive control and reward items demonstrated bias across alcohol use severity. Future research is needed to improve the measurement of ANA domains using multimodal indicators, examine longitudinal changes in domains and their relationship with alcohol use severity, characterize phenotypic subgroups based on relative levels of domains, and compare the utility of the ANA with other proposed frameworks for measuring AUD heterogeneity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

A Novel, Expert-Endorsed, Neurocognitive Digital Assessment Tool for Addictive Disorders: Development and Validation Study.

BACKGROUND: Many people with harmful addictive behaviors may not meet formal diagnostic thresholds for a disorder. A dimensional approach, by contrast, including clinical and community samples, is potentially key to early detection, prevention, and intervention. Importantly, while neurocognitive dysfunction underpins addictive behaviors, established assessment tools for neurocognitive assessment are lengthy and unengaging, difficult to administer at scale, and not suited to clinical or community needs. The BrainPark Assessment of Cognition (BrainPAC) Project sought to develop and validate an engaging and user-friendly digital assessment tool purpose-built to comprehensively assess the main consensus-driven constructs underpinning addictive behaviors. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to psychometrically validate a gamified battery of consensus-based neurocognitive tasks against standard laboratory paradigms, ascertain test-retest reliability, and determine their sensitivity to addictive behaviors (eg, alcohol use) and other risk factors (eg, trait impulsivity). METHODS: Gold standard laboratory paradigms were selected to measure key neurocognitive constructs (Balloon Analogue Risk Task [BART], Stop Signal Task [SST], Delay Discounting Task [DDT], Value-Modulated Attentional Capture [VMAC] Task, and Sequential Decision-Making Task [SDT]), as endorsed by an international panel of addiction experts; namely, response selection and inhibition, reward valuation, action selection, reward learning, expectancy and reward prediction error, habit, and compulsivity. Working with game developers, BrainPAC tasks were developed and validated in 3 successive cohorts (total N=600) and a separate test-retest cohort (N=50) via Mechanical Turk using a cross-sectional design. RESULTS: BrainPAC tasks were significantly correlated with the original laboratory paradigms on most metrics (r=0.18-0.63, P<.05). With the exception of the DDT k function and VMAC total points, all other task metrics across the 5 tasks did not differ between the gamified and nongamified versions (P>.05). Out of 5 tasks, 4 demonstrated adequate to excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.72-0.91, P<.001; except SDT). Gamified metrics were significantly associated with addictive behaviors on behavioral inventories, though largely independent of trait-based scales known to predict addiction risk. CONCLUSIONS: A purpose-built battery of digitally gamified tasks is sufficiently valid for the scalable assessment of key neurocognitive processes underpinning addictive behaviors. This validation provides evidence that a novel approach, purported to enhance task engagement, in the assessment of addiction-related neurocognition is feasible and empirically defensible. These findings have significant implications for risk detection and the successful deployment of next-generation assessment tools for substance use or misuse and other mental disorders characterized by neurocognitive anomalies related to motivation and self-regulation. Future development and validation of the BrainPAC tool should consider further enhancing convergence with established measures as well as collecting population-representative data to use clinically as normative comparisons.

Measuring craving: A systematic review and mapping of assessment instruments. What about sexual craving?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Craving is central in the definition of addictive disorders because of its diagnostic and prognostic value. Its measurement is essential in clinical practice. Previous reviews provided a better overview of existing instruments; however, they do not consider emerging substances and behaviors such as sexual addictions. Our objectives were threefold: (1) to provide a systematic review of craving assessment instruments and their psychometric characteristics within a transdiagnostic approach, (2) to highlight and map their conceptual relationships and (3) to identify potential sexual craving assessment instruments. METHODS: The review was conducted using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology. The PubMed, Embase, PsychInfo and Cochrane/Central databases were searched for publications that met the following inclusion criterion: validation studies of craving assessment instruments, regardless of target substance or behavior. The original search identified 4561 references and included 147 articles. Each selected study was a peer-reviewed publication. RESULTS: This review provides a synthesis of the psychometric properties of 36 original instruments and identified 93 variations of these instruments (e.g. translations). We were able to highlight five transdiagnostic families of instruments, each corresponding to a conceptual model. Only one instrument for assessing craving in the domain of compulsive sexual behavior, focused on pornography use, has been identified: the Pornography Craving Questionnaire. CONCLUSION: This review mapped all craving assessment instruments from a transdiagnostic perspective, finding 36 original instruments and 93 variations. The evolution of instruments to measure craving mirrors the evolution of the concept of craving which has progressively integrated cognitive, conditioning and sensory dimensions, and attests to the importance of the context of assessment. Development of an instrument to measure 'sexual craving' is needed and could be based on the data from our review.

Thinking beyond cut-off scores in the assessment of potentially addictive behaviors: A brief illustration in the context of binge-watching.

While applying a diagnostic approach (i.e., comparing "clinical" cases with "healthy" controls) is part of our methodological habits as researchers and clinicians, this approach has been particularly criticized in the behavioral addictions research field, in which a lot of studies are conducted on "emerging" conditions. Here we exemplify the pitfalls of using a cut-off-based approach in the context of binge-watching (i.e., watching multiple episodes of series back-to-back) by demonstrating that no reliable cut-off scores could be determined with a widely used assessment instrument measuring binge-watching.

Relationship between Materialism and Social Networking Site Addiction among Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model.

Materialism has been consistently linked to Internet-related addictions, including compulsive online shopping, problematic online gaming, and excessive smartphone use; however, the relationship between materialism and social networking site (SNS) addiction has remained unclear. Thus, this study aims to examine the association between materialism and SNS addiction and investigate the mediating effect of fatalism and moderating effect of self-concept clarity in this relationship among 703 Chinese adolescents. Materialism was significantly positively associated with SNS addiction in adolescents, and fatalism partially mediated this association. Moreover, self-concept clarity moderated the direct and indirect relationships between materialism and SNS addiction. Specifically, for adolescents with low (versus high) self-concept clarity, those who also had high levels of materialism were more likely to develop fatalistic beliefs and showed further symptoms of SNS addiction. This study's findings imply that decreasing materialism and fatalism and developing self-concept clarity might be effective interventions for reducing SNS addiction among adolescents.

Development and validation of Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS) for Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and factor analytic assessment.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, Present and Lifetime version (K-SADS-PL) for Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) in adolescents. METHODS: Questions and threshold criteria of the K-SADS-IGD was generated based on the related section of K-SADS-PL. Then, the sample consist of IGD group and matched control group with no significant difference in psychiatric comorbidities from clinical settings were included to assess the psychometric properties of the K-SADS-IGD. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor analysis were conducted to evaluate and compare DSM model of IGD and two different Models of IGD proposal in adolescents. RESULTS: Exploratory Factor Analysis of K-SADS-IGD revealed a single factor explaining 61.469% of the total variance. Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicates that although the K-SADS-IGD model fit indices were also acceptable, Model 1, which excluded the 7th criterion of IGD criteria of DSM-5 showed better fit in adolescent population. The Likelihood Ratio Positive and the Likelihood Ratio Negative estimates for the diagnosis of K-SADS-IGD were 31.4 and 0.12, respectively, suggesting that K-SADS-IGD was beneficial for determining the presence and the absence of IGD in adolescents. Also, K-SADS-IGD could detect disordered gamers with significantly low functionality (even after controlling the impact of comorbidities) from non-disordered gamers. CONCLUSION: K-SADS-IGD was found to be a reliable and valid instrument in adolescents. The model excluding 7th criteria of DSM-5 IGD was found to be more consistent than the current DSM-5 IGD model in the adolescent population. Therefore, the diagnostic criteria might be required to adjust according to the age group since the clinical symptomatology of IGD in adolescents may differ from that in adults. The K-SADS-IGD may meet the need for a certain and standardized tool to assess IGD in this population.

The Spanish Version of the Video Game Functional Assessment-Revised.

It is estimated that 16.8 million in Spain (41% female) are involved in gaming, and approximately 8.3% of Spanish gamers are problematic gamers (i.e., endorsing five or more of the nine criteria for Internet Gaming Disorder [IGD]). Given the high prevalence of IGD in Spain, this study evaluated construct validity and concurrent validity of the Spanish Version of the Video Game Functional Assessment-Revised (SP-VGFA-R), by examining the correlational coefficients with the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF). A total of 434 adults 18 years of age or older participated in the study (15.1% female). Results showed that the SP-VGFA-R was positively and significantly associated with the IGDS9-SF (bivariate coefficients ranging from 0.411 to 0.610). Four distinct factors in the SP-VGFA-R were identified in confirmatory factor analysis, including (a) social attention, (b) tangible/intangible rewards, (c) escape/avoidance of demands or pain, and (d) sensory stimulation. Other findings showed that IGDS9-SF scores increased as (a) the escape/avoidance of demands or pain function increased and (b) two or more function scores increased. The SP-VGFA-R can be used in combination with the IGDS9-SF to assess Spanish gamers with IGD internationally, and to develop evidence-based behavioral interventions.

Psychometric evaluation of the NORC diagnostic screen for gambling problems (NODS) for the assessment of DSM-5 gambling disorder.

The National Opinion Research Center (NORC) Diagnostic Screen for Gambling Problems (NODS) is one of the most used outcome measures in gambling intervention trials. However, a screen based on DSM-5 gambling disorder criteria has yet to be developed or validated since the DSM-5 release in 2013. This omission is possibly because the criteria for gambling disorder only underwent minor changes from DSM-IV to DSM-5: the diagnostic threshold was reduced from 5 to 4 criteria, and the illegal activity criterion was removed. Validation of a measure that captures these changes is still warranted. The current study examined the psychometric properties of an online self-report past-year adaptation of the NODS based on DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for gambling disorder (i.e., NODS-GD). A diverse sample of participants (N = 959) was crowdsourced via Amazon's TurkPrime. Internal consistency and one-week test-retest reliability were good. High correlations (r = 0.74-0.77) with other measures of gambling problem severity were observed in addition to moderate correlations (r = 0.21-0.36) with related but distinct constructs (e.g., gambling expenditures, time spent gambling, other addictive behaviors). All nine of the DSM-5 criteria loaded positively on one principal component, which accounted for 40% of the variance. Classification accuracy (i.e., sensitivity, specificity, predictive power) was generally very good with respect to the PGSI and ICD-10 diagnostic criteria. Future studies are encouraged to establish a gold standard self-report measure of gambling problems and develop agreed-upon recommendations for the use and interpretation of crowdsourced addiction data.

Assessment of online compulsive buying: Psychometric properties of the Italian compulsive online shopping scale (COSS).

The rapid diffusion of the Internet has made doing things online in addition to in person possible. This has also lead to the emergence of new potential behavioural addictions related to the digital world, such as online shopping addiction. Given the peculiar features of cyberspace, the development of specific instruments for asseessing online shopping addiction appears to be of great importance to promote a better understanding of the phenomenon and effective clinical interventions. On this basis, this research aims to translate and validate the Compulsive Online Shopping Scale (COSS) for the Italian context. A sample of 397 Italian participants (Mage = 32.54 years, SD = 11.16) completed an online survey consisting of the Italian COSS, Edwards Compulsive Buying Scale, Internet Addiction Test, Yale­Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale­ Second Edition, and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) showed the adequacy of the model fit to the data for a correlational solution with the same 7 factors of the original version: Salience¸ Mood modification¸ Conflict¸ Tolerance¸ Relapse¸ Withdrawal¸ and Problems. Furthermore, good indications of internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity emerged from the results. Therefore, the Italian COSS seems to be a valid and reliable self-report scale that can be used to assess the risk of compulsive online shopping among Italian-speaking individuals and may be useful for both research and clinical practice.

Tracing 20 years of research on problematic use of the internet and social media: Theoretical models, assessment tools, and an agenda for future work.

Over the past two decades, there has been increasing interest in the impact of internet use and growing concern about whether problematic use of the internet (PUI) constitutes an addiction. Despite the growing number of studies investigating PUI and PUI subtypes, its conceptualization and inclusion in a classification system have not been possible yet. Several models aimed at inspiring clinical research and practice have proposed possible mechanisms involved in PUI and problematic use of social media, and multiple self-report instruments have been consequentially developed. The diversity of theoretical models and instruments currently hinders standardized assessment procedures across studies and, in turn, their comparability. The purpose of the present overview is to highlight the current conceptualization and assessment of both PUI and problematic use of social media, in order to critically discuss the existing fragmentation in the field and the need to achieve conceptual convergence. Two suggestions for future directions are also provided, i.e., define diagnostic criteria by bottom-up and top-down processes and develop a psychobiological hypothesis including the description of higher-order mechanisms involved in PUI and not other psychopathological conditions (e.g., the multiple available internet-related cues and outcomes that may lead to parallel forms of associative learning; probabilities of obtaining internet-related reinforcements; and intrinsic motivation processes).

Development and Feasibility Study of an Addiction-Focused Phenotyping Assessment Battery.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Current methods of classifying individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) result in vast heterogeneity among persons within a given diagnosis. These approaches, while clinically allowing for distinctions between patient groups, are less than ideal when attempting to recruit a neurobehaviorally defined subset of subjects into clinical trials. To address this gap, alternative strategies have been proposed, including behavioral phenotyping. The NIDA Phenotyping Assessment Battery (PhAB) is a modular package of assessments and neurocognitive tasks that was developed for use in clinical trials. The goal of the present study is to assess the feasibility of the NIDA PhAB with regard to ease of administration and time burden. METHODS: Healthy controls, persons with cocaine use disorder (CocUD), opioid use disorder (OUD), cannabis use disorder (CanUD), and combined opioid and cocaine use disorder (OCUD) were recruited from various sources (N = 595). Participants completed screening and one to three assessment visits. Time to complete the measures was recorded and a satisfaction interview was administered. RESULTS: Of the participants enrolled, 381 were deemed eligible. The majority of eligible participants (83%) completed all assessments. The average completion time was 3 hours. High participant satisfaction ratings were noted, with over 90% of participants endorsing a willingness to participate in a similar study and recommend the study to others. CONCLUSION AND SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: These findings corroborate the ease with which the PhAB may be easily incorporated into a study assessment visit without undue participant burden. The PhAB is an efficient method for behavioral phenotyping in addiction clinical trials. (Am J Addict 2021;00:00-00).

Exercise addiction in athletes: Comparing two assessment instruments and willingness to stop exercise after medical advice.

Exercise is overwhelmingly beneficial for physical and mental health, but for some people exercise addiction (EA) can develop and negatively impact an individual. This study sought to (a) compare the latent structure of two instruments assessing EA and (b) examine differences in attitudes toward stopping exercise, if required to on medical grounds, among exercise-addicted and non-addicted athletes. In a cross-sectional study, 1,011 athletes competing at different levels completed an anonymous on-line survey. The survey contained Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised (EDS-R), Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI), and questions on adherence to medical prescriptions to stop exercise. We tested the latent structure of EDS-R and EAI with multigroup confirmatory factor analyses (CFA), across gender and competition level. Finally, we measured the difference of athletes' attitudes toward stopping exercise, if prescribed by a physician. Both instruments showed good fit indexes, even across gender. CFAs on EAI scores showed some violations of measurement invariance across competition level (ΔCFI = .03; ΔRMSEA = .02). On the contrary, CFAs on EDS-R scores did not show invariance violations across competition level (ΔCFI = <.01; ΔRMSEA = <.01). Finally, athletes who reached thresholds for exercise addiction, by means of EDS-R, were more prone to not follow medical prescriptions to cease exercise, independently of the competition level. These results suggest that athletes' answers on the EDS-R seem to be less affected by competition level, compared to EAI. Moreover, EDS-R outcomes could be used to identify individuals who may be unlikely to cease exercise for medical reasons, independently of their competition level. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Evaluation of the Addictions Neuroclinical Assessment (ANA) framework through deep phenotyping of problem drinkers.

BACKGROUND: To advance the development of a neuroscience-informed understanding of alcohol use disorder (AUD) through the Addictions Neuroclinical Assessment (ANA) framework, the present study reports on deep phenotyping of a large sample of problem drinkers. METHODS: Participants (n = 1679) were primarily heavy drinkers with and without AUD, who completed a phenotypic battery of well-validated scales and behavioral measures of alcohol use and problems, mood, attention, and impulsivity. These scales were subjected to sequential factor analytic work in order to derive a factor solution that explains biobehavioral variation in the sample. To assess the construct validity of the resulting factor solution, scores on each factor were associated with demographic and clinical indicators. RESULTS: Factor analysis techniques using indicators of alcohol use and problems, mood, attention, and impulsivity implicated four functional domains that compliment and extend the proposed ANA domains: negative alcohol-related consequences, incentive salience, negative emotionality, and executive function. Demographic and clinical variables significantly predicted scores on all ANA domains. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides an independent test of the recently proposed neuroscience-based ANA framework. Results largely support the novel approach in identifying four core constructs in problem drinkers. Future studies can deepen our understanding of how these domains are relevant to AUD by incorporating biomarkers.

Identification of Optimal Measures of Human Abuse Potential: A Post Hoc Assessment of 19 Studies.

BACKGROUND: Human abuse potential studies include multiple measures to assess the subjective effects of central nervous system-active drugs. In this retrospective analysis, measurement properties of commonly used measures were assessed, and factor analysis was conducted to identify a core battery of measures. METHODS: Measures of positive, negative and other effects, for example, bipolar "at-the-moment" Drug Liking visual analog scale (VAS), were derived for active controls and placebo from 19 studies in recreational drug users (N = 570). Distribution, placebo response, variability, convergent/discriminant validity, parameter effect sizes (eg, maximum effect [Emax], time-averaged area under the effect curve), and predictive validity were evaluated. A factor analysis was conducted with 9 studies. RESULTS: Most parameters were not normally distributed. Bipolar VAS exhibited the lowest variability. Drug Liking VAS Emax was very sensitive, showed large effect sizes (>1.0), and was moderately to strongly correlated with Emax of other positive effects measures (r > 0.5), but weaker with less specific scales (eg, high, Any Effects VAS); time-averaged area under the effect curve showed higher variability and lower effect sizes. Maximum effect at any dose (EmaxD) was significantly correlated with Emax across all selected measures and showed higher effect sizes. In the overall factor analysis, factors could be categorized into positive effects/euphoria (77% of variance), negative effects (17.9%), and pharmacologic effects (5%). For predictive validity, effect sizes for Drug Liking VAS Emax/EmaxD were moderately correlated with postmarket adverse events related to abuse (R = 0.52). CONCLUSIONS: A core battery of 7 subjective measures was proposed, with additional measures added based on pharmacologic effects.

Presentation and validation of the Abbreviated Self Completion Teen-Addiction Severity Index (ASC T-ASI): A preference-based measure for use in health-economic evaluations.

Economic evaluations of new youth mental health interventions require preference-based outcome measures that capture the broad benefits these interventions can have for adolescents. The Abbreviated Self Completion Teen-Addiction Severity Index (ASC T-ASI) was developed to meet the need for such a broader measure. It assesses self reported problems in seven important domains of adolescents' lives, including school performance and family relationships, and is intended for use in economic evaluations of relevant interventions. The aim of the current study was to present the ASC T-ASI and examine its validity as well as its ability to distinguish between adolescents with and without problems associated with substance use and delinquency. The validation study was conducted in a sample of adolescents (n = 167) aged 12-18 years, who received in- or outpatient care in a youth mental health and (enclosed) care facility in the Netherlands. To examine its feasibility, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity, respondents completed the ASC T-ASI, as well as the EQ-5D-3L and SDQ at baseline and after a two-week interval using a counterbalanced method. The ASC T-ASI descriptive system comprises seven domains: substance use, school, work, family, social relationships, justice, and mental health, each expressing self reported problems on a five-point Likert scale (ranging from having 'no problem' to having a 'very large problem'). The majority of respondents (>70%) completed the ASC T-ASI within 10 minutes and appraised the questions as (very) easy and (very) comprehensible. Test-retest reliability was adequate (Kw values 0.26-0.55). Correlations with the supplementary measures were moderate to high (rs 0.30-0.50), suggesting convergent validity. The ASC T-ASI is a promising and valid measure for assessing self reported problems in important domains in adolescents' lives, allowing benefits beyond health and health-related quality of life to be included in economic evaluations of youth mental health interventions. Future studies of the ASC T-ASI should consider the comprehensiveness of its domains and sensitivity to change.

A pilot study using ecological momentary assessment via smartphone application to identify adolescent problematic internet use.

For some youth, pathologic Internet use can cause significant distress and dysfunction, a phenomenon known as Problematic Internet Use (PIU). PIU has been associated with poorer health outcomes in adolescents with existing psychiatric illness but understanding PIU has been challenging due to research methodologies using cross-sectional, self-report data. This study assessed the feasibility of using app-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to provide more ecologically-valid data to identify and characterize the relationship between mood symptoms and PIU in adolescents in active mental health treatment. 25 youth (aged 12-23) were recruited to use an EMA app for 6 weeks. 96% of participants completed the study and the majority of participants completed surveys at least once weekly. Youth with anxiety disorders endorsed significantly greater benefit from using the app to monitor PIU. While PIU severity was positively correlated with worsened anxiety and depression, analyses of the temporal relationships between PIU and mood symptoms showed that anxiety symptoms were significantly improved after episodes of PIU. Overall results suggest that app-based EMA may be both acceptable and feasible to understand PIU in this population. Follow-up studies should consider personalization of study protocols and use of digital phenotyping methodology to collect more objective measurements of behavior.

Screening and assessment tools for gaming disorder: A comprehensive systematic review.

The inclusion of gaming disorder (GD) as an official diagnosis in the ICD-11 was a significant milestone for the field. However, the optimal measurement approaches for GD are currently unclear. This comprehensive systematic review aimed to identify and evaluate all available English-language GD tools and their corresponding evidence. A search of PsychINFO, PsychArticles, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar identified 32 tools employed in 320 studies (N = 462,249 participants). The evaluation framework examined tools in relation to: (1) conceptual and practical considerations; (2) alignment with DSM-5 and ICD-11 criteria; (3) type and quantity of studies and samples; and (4) psychometric properties. The evaluation showed that GD instrumentation has proliferated, with 2.5 tools, on average, published annually since 2013. Coverage of DSM-5 and ICD-11 criteria was inconsistent, especially for the criterion of continued use despite harm. Tools converge on the importance of screening for impaired control over gaming and functional impairment. Overall, no single tool was found to be clearly superior, but the AICA-Sgaming, GAS-7, IGDT-10, IGDS9-SF, and Lemmens IGD-9 scales had greater evidential support for their psychometric properties. The GD field would benefit from a standard international tool to identify gaming-related harms across the spectrum of maladaptive gaming behaviors.

The relationship between problem gambling, excessive gaming, psychological distress and spending on loot boxes in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, and the United States-A cross-national survey.

Loot boxes are digital containers of randomised rewards available in many video games. Due to similarities between some loot boxes and traditional forms of gambling, concerns regarding the relationship between spending on loot boxes in video games and symptoms of problematic gambling have been expressed by policy makers and the general public. We present the first investigation of these concerns in large cross-sectional cross-national samples from three countries (Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, and the United States). A sample of 1,049 participants were recruited through Qualtrics' Survey Targeting service from a broad cross-section of the population in Australia (n = 339), Aotearoa New Zealand (n = 323), and the United States (n = 387). Participants answered a survey assessing problem gambling, problem gaming symptomology, and how much they spent on loot boxes per month. On average, individuals with problem gambling issues spent approximately $13 USD per month more on loot boxes than those with no such symptoms. Loot box spending was also associated with both positive and negative moods, albeit with small effect sizes. Analyses showed both interactions and correlations between problematic gambling and problematic gaming symptoms, indicating both some commonality in the mechanisms underlying, and independent contributions made by, these proposed diagnostic criteria. These results provide context for dialogues regarding how best to reduce the impacts of loot box spending among those with problematic gambling symptoms.

The Assessment of Problematic Internet Pornography Use: A Comparison of Three Scales with Mixed Methods.

The primary aim of this study was to compare different screening tools for problematic internet pornography use (IPU) and identify the most accurate measure. The reliability and validity of three scales, namely, the Problematic Pornography Consumption Scale (PPCS), Problematic Pornography Use Scale (PPUS), and Short Internet Addiction Test Adapted to Online Sexual Activities(s-IAT-sex), were examined using three homogeneous groups, respectively. A total of 972 adults (mean age = 24.8) from 28 provinces/regions in China participated in the quantitative part (QUAN). The Brief Pornography Screener served as the reference standard. The PPCS demonstrated stronger reliability and validity, including criterion validity, as well as greater sensitivity and acceptable specificity; therefore, it was considered to be the more accurate screening instrument. In the qualitative part (QUAL), we interviewed 22 volunteers and 11 therapists (who had worked with individuals with problematic IPU) to examine their perspectives on the core features of problematic IPU and dimensions of the PPCS. Almost all the interviewees endorsed the structure of the PPCS. These findings encourage the use of the PPCS in future research studies and underscore its screening applications because of its ability to classify IPU as problematic or nonproblematic.

[Gambling disorder and imputability: from the nosographic revision to an expanded forensic assessment]. / Disturbo da gioco d'azzardo e imputabilità: dalla revisione nosografica a un assessment forense ampliato.

The gambling disorder (GD in the DSM-5) is an example of how the evolution of research has contributed to the nosographic review of complex psychopathological conditions, such as behavioral addictions, likewise other personality pathologies. Recently, the scientific and doctrinal debate has also affected the controversial issue of imputability, to assess in what terms this diagnostic picture can acquire the value of "infirmity" such as to undermine the ability to understand and the will of a subject under evaluation. However, it is always necessary to translate the clinical, and experimental, acquisitions in the exercise of the appraisal function and of technical consultancy. The proceedings is not the place for the experiments, and the only effective tool available for experts to manage the passage of new scientific acquisitions from the clinical/experimental to the forensic field is an accurate assessment, basing on the methodological criteria, for each individual case under consideration. Here we propose a path aimed at adapting the forensic assessment with respect to the clinical profile of pathological gambling, a valid example of the evolution of the mutual relationship between psychiatric/psychological sciences and jurisprudence, in terms of imputability.