TY - JOUR
T1 - Treatments for internet addiction, sex addiction and compulsive buying
T2 - A meta-analysis
AU - Goslar, Martina
AU - Leibetseder, Max
AU - Muench, Hannah M
AU - Hofmann, Stefan G
AU - Laireiter, Anton-Rupert
N1 - Funding Information:
Conflict of interest: Martina Goslar declares that she has no conflict of interest. Max Leibetseder declares that he has no conflict of interest. Hannah M. Muench declares that she has no conflict of interest. Dr. Hofmann receives financial support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (as part of the Humboldt prize), NIH/NCCIH (R01AT007257), NIH/NIMH (R01MH099021, U01MH108168), and the James S. McDonnell Foundation 21st Century Science Initiative in Understanding Human Cognition – Special Initiative. He receives compensation for his work as editor from Springer Nature and the Association for Psychological Science, and as an advisor from the Palo Alto Health Sciences and for his work as a Subject Matter Expert from John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and SilverCloud Health, Inc. He also receives royalties and payments for his editorial work from various publishers. Anton-Rupert Laireiter declares that he has no conflict of interest.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s)
PY - 2020/4/1
Y1 - 2020/4/1
N2 - BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Internet addiction, sex addiction and compulsive buying are common behavioral problems, which share similarities with gambling disorder and substance use disorders. However, little is known about the efficacy of their treatments. The objective of this meta-analysis was to examine the efficacy of the treatments of such problem behaviors, and to draw parallels to gambling disorder and substance use disorders in terms of treatment response.METHODS: Literature search yielded 91 studies totaling 3,531 participants to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the short-term and long-term efficacy of psychological, pharmacological and combined treatments for internet addiction, sex addiction, and compulsive buying.RESULTS: Psychological, pharmacological, and combined treatments were associated with robust pre-post improvements in the global severity of internet addiction (Hedges's g: 1.51, 1.13, and 2.51, respectively) and sex addiction (Hedges's g: 1.09, 1.21, and 1.91, respectively). For compulsive buying, psychological and pharmacological treatments were also associated with a large-sized pre-post reduction in global severity (Hedges's g: 1.00 and 1.52, respectively). The controlled pre-post and within-group pre-follow-up effect sizes were in the similar range, with few exceptions. Moderator analyses suggest that psychological interventions are effective for reducing compulsive behaviors, especially when delivered face-to-face and conducted over extended periods of time. Combinations of cognitive-behavioral approaches with medications showed an advantage over monotherapies.DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that treatments for common behavioral addictions are effective in the short term, similar to those implemented for gambling disorder and substance use disorders, but more rigorous clinical trials are needed.
AB - BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Internet addiction, sex addiction and compulsive buying are common behavioral problems, which share similarities with gambling disorder and substance use disorders. However, little is known about the efficacy of their treatments. The objective of this meta-analysis was to examine the efficacy of the treatments of such problem behaviors, and to draw parallels to gambling disorder and substance use disorders in terms of treatment response.METHODS: Literature search yielded 91 studies totaling 3,531 participants to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the short-term and long-term efficacy of psychological, pharmacological and combined treatments for internet addiction, sex addiction, and compulsive buying.RESULTS: Psychological, pharmacological, and combined treatments were associated with robust pre-post improvements in the global severity of internet addiction (Hedges's g: 1.51, 1.13, and 2.51, respectively) and sex addiction (Hedges's g: 1.09, 1.21, and 1.91, respectively). For compulsive buying, psychological and pharmacological treatments were also associated with a large-sized pre-post reduction in global severity (Hedges's g: 1.00 and 1.52, respectively). The controlled pre-post and within-group pre-follow-up effect sizes were in the similar range, with few exceptions. Moderator analyses suggest that psychological interventions are effective for reducing compulsive behaviors, especially when delivered face-to-face and conducted over extended periods of time. Combinations of cognitive-behavioral approaches with medications showed an advantage over monotherapies.DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that treatments for common behavioral addictions are effective in the short term, similar to those implemented for gambling disorder and substance use disorders, but more rigorous clinical trials are needed.
KW - Behavior, Addictive/drug therapy
KW - Consumer Behavior
KW - Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders/drug therapy
KW - Humans
KW - Internet Addiction Disorder/therapy
KW - Sexual Behavior
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85086660756&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1556/2006.2020.00005
DO - 10.1556/2006.2020.00005
M3 - Review article
C2 - 32359229
SN - 2062-5871
VL - 9
SP - 14
EP - 43
JO - Journal of Behavioral Addictions
JF - Journal of Behavioral Addictions
IS - 1
ER -