Neurochemical and Hormonal Contributors to Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder

Purpose of Review Compulsive sexual behavior disorder has been recently included in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), and the possible contribution of neurochemical and hormonal factors have been reported. However, relatively little is known concerning the neurobiology underlying this disorder. The aim of this article is to review and discuss published findings in the area. Recent Findings Evidence suggests that the neuroendocrine systems are involved in the pathophysiology of compulsive sexual behavior. The hypothalamus-pituitary adrenal axis, the hypothalamus-pituitary–gonadal axis, and the oxytocinergic system have been implicated. Summary Further studies are needed to elucidate the exact involvement of neuroendocrine and hormonal systems in compulsive sexual behavior disorder. Prospective longitudinal studies are particularly needed, especially those considering co-occurring psychiatric disorders and obtaining hormonal assessments in experimental circumstances with appropriate control groups.

Evidence on Problematic Online Gaming and Social Anxiety over the Past Ten Years: a Systematic Literature Review

Purpose of Review The present study aimed to review the literature concerning the relationship between problematic online gaming (POG) and social anxiety, taking into account the variables implicated in this relationship. This review included studies published between 2010 and 2020 that were indexed in major databases with the following keywords: Internet gaming, disorder, addiction, problematic, social phobia, and social anxiety. Recent Findings In recent years, scientific interest in POG has grown dramatically. Within this prolific research field, difficulties associated with social anxiety have been increasingly explored in relation to POG. Indeed, evidence showed that individuals who experience social anxiety are more exposed to the risk of developing an excessive or addictive gaming behavior. Summary A total of 30 studies satisfied the initial inclusion criteria and were included in the present literature review. Several reviewed studies found a strong association between social anxiety and online gaming disorder. Furthermore, the relationships among social anxiety, POG, age, and psychosocial and comorbid factors were largely explored. Overall, the present review showed that socially anxious individuals might perceive online video games as safer social environments than face-to-face interactions, predisposing individuals to the POG. However, in a mutually reinforcing relationship, individuals with higher POG seem to show higher social anxiety. Therefore, despite online gaming might represent an activity able to alleviate psychopathological symptoms and/or negative emotional states, people might use online gaming to counterbalance distress or negative situations in everyday life, carrying out a maladaptive coping strategy.

Novel Treatment Approaches for Substance Use Disorders: Therapeutic Use of Psychedelics and the Role of Psychotherapy

Purpose of Review The use of psychedelics in a therapeutical setting has been reported for the treatment of various diagnoses in recent years. However, as psychedelic substances are still commonly known for their (illicit) recreational use, it may seem counterintuitive to use psychedelic therapy to treat substance use disorders. This review aims to discuss how psychedelics can promote and intensify psychotherapeutic key processes, in different approaches like psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral therapy, with a spotlight on the treatment of substance use disorders (SUD). Recent Findings There is promising evidence of feasibility, safety, and efficacy of psychedelic therapy in SUD. In the whole process of former and current psychedelic therapy regimes that have shown to be safe and efficacious, various psychotherapeutic elements, both psychodynamic and behavioral as well as other approaches, can be identified, while a substantial part of the assumed mechanism of action, the individual psychedelic experience, cannot be distinctly classified to just one approach. Summary Psychedelic therapy consists of a complex interaction of pharmacological and psychological processes. When administered in well-defined conditions, psychedelics can serve as augmentation of different psychotherapy interventions in the treatment of SUD and other mental disorders, regardless of their theoretical origin.

Problematic Online Buying-Shopping: Is it Time to Considering the Concept of an Online Subtype of Compulsive Buying-Shopping Disorder or a Specific Internet-Use Disorder?

Purpose of Review Problematic online buying-shopping became a recent research topic, and the question arises as to whether it would be useful to differentiate between a “predominantly online” and a “predominantly offline” compulsive buying-shopping disorder (CBSD) subtype by analogy with gaming disorder and gambling disorder in the ICD-11. This narrative review aims at reflecting the discussions on overlaps of problematic online buying-shopping with both offline CBSD and specific internet-use disorders. Recent Findings Preliminary data suggest that problematic online buying-shopping shares many commonalities with both offline CBSD and potential specific internet-use disorders (e.g., gaming disorder, pornography-use disorder, or social-network–use disorder). However, there is a lack of research addressing the etiology, underlying affective and cognitive mechanisms, psychosocial correlates, comorbidity profiles, and treatment of problematic online buying-shopping. Summary The question of whether online CBSD can develop independently from offline CBSD or only as medial transformation of offline CBSD still remains unanswered due to limited research on problematic online buying-shopping. Both perspectives are conceivable: that online CBSD represents a standalone specific internet-use disorder or the online subtype of CBSD. Future studies should examine which approach has clinical utility and indicates specific treatment options and better outcomes.

Integrating Desire Thinking into the I-PACE Model: a Special Focus on Internet-Use Disorders

Purpose of Review This manuscript aims to propose an integration of desire thinking into the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model based on theoretical considerations within the Elaborated Intrusion Theory of Desire and Self-Regulatory Execution Function model and empirical evidence from the field of internet-use disorders. Recent Findings Theory and research on desire thinking in the context of internet-use disorders suggest considerable relations to craving, metacognitive beliefs, and emphasizes its nature when initiated as a reaction towards unpleasant triggers. Accordingly, we postulate that desire thinking may be located at the position for affective and cognitive reactions towards triggers within the I-PACE model. Summary The suggested integration of desire thinking into the I-PACE model specifically implies the assumption of a relief-oriented and pleasure-oriented entry pathway into desire thinking and a feedback loop between desire thinking and the experience of gratification and compensation. The model pathways proposed here may serve as a theoretical basis for future research and need further empirical verification.

The Overlap Between Problematic Smartphone Use and Problematic Social Media Use: a Systematic Review

Purpose of Review Over the last decade, problematic smartphone use (PSU) and problematic social media use (PSMU) have emerged as new potential problematic behaviours. Several studies have suggested that smartphones are predominantly used for social purposes (i.e., using messaging apps and social networking sites). The aim of the current article is to provide a systematic review of the extant literature that has explicitly analysed the association between PSU and PSMU in order to examine study characteristics in terms of samples analysed and effect sizes of the associations reported. This systematic review is based on the ongoing debate about whether the smartphone can be considered as the medium of one or more problematic activities, including PSMU. Recent Findings Existing evidence suggests that the effect sizes of the associations between PSU and PSMU are medium to large and large across the 13 studies included, with the largest correlations observed between PSU and problematic WhatsApp use or general PSMU. Overall, reviewed results suggest a partial overlap between the two problematic behaviours. Summary PSU and PSMU are overlapped mostly because the smartphone is a common medium to use social media, especially concerning instant messaging apps like WhatsApp. Moreover, PSU should be preferentially studied with a focus on specific types of apps used rather than a more holistic phenomenon.