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Gambling disorder is the only behavioral addiction recognized as a clinical disorder in DSM-5, and Internet gaming disorder is included as a condition requiring further research. ICD-11 categorizes gambling and gaming disorders as disorders due to addictive behaviors. Additional behavioral addictions may include compulsive sexual behavior disorder, compulsive buying-shopping disorder, and problematic use of social media. This narrative review summarizes the current state of knowledge regarding these five (potential) disorders due to addictive behaviors. All five (potential) disorders are clinically relevant and prevalent. Behavioral addictions frequently co-occur with other mental and behavioral problems, such as depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Validated diagnostic instruments exist, with empirical support varying across conditions. No medications have approved indications from regulatory bodies for behavioral addictions, and cognitive-behavioral therapy has the most empirical support for efficacious treatment. Given that behavioral addictions are prevalent, frequently co-occur with psychiatric disorders, may often go undiagnosed and untreated, and have been linked to poorer treatment outcomes, active screening and treatment are indicated. Public health considerations should be expanded, and impacts of modern technologies should be investigated more intensively. Treatment optimization involving pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, neuromodulation, and their combination warrants additional investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: There is a lack of research on the impact of acute stress on the interaction of affective and cognitive processes in online compulsive buying-shopping disorder (CBSD). Therefore, this project addressed stress response, cue reactivity, attentional bias, and implicit associations in individuals with online CBSD., Methods: Women with CBSD (n = 63) and women with non-problematic online buying-shopping (n = 64) were randomly assigned to the Trier Social Stress Test or a non-stress condition. After the stress/non-stress induction, participants performed a cue-reactivity paradigm, a dot-probe paradigm, and an implicit association task, each with addiction-related (online buying-shopping) and control (social networks) cues., Results: Individuals with CBSD showed stronger affective responses towards the addiction-related and control cues than the control group and rated the addiction-related pictures with higher 'arousal' and 'urge' than the control images. No group differences emerged in the dot-probe paradigm and implicit association task. Acute stress showed no effect on performance in the behavioural tasks. Regression models investigating the impact of craving on the relationship between stress response and implicit cognitions within the group with CBSD were not significant., Discussion: The findings demonstrate the involvement and generalization of cue reactivity in online CBSD, but do not provide support for effects of acute stress on cue reactivity, attentional bias and implicit associations., Conclusions: Future studies should not be restricted to women and combine laboratory and naturalistic study designs to investigate the complex psychological mechanisms in online CBSD.

Background: The rise of e-commerce has led to an increase in online compulsive buying-shopping disorder (OCBSD), an addictive disorder potentially driven by preoccupations like mental imagery, yet their occurrence and predictors have not been thoroughly explored., Methods: This study investigated the expression of and associations with mental imagery in women with pathological ( n  = 56) or non-problematic buying-shopping ( n  = 56) applying hierarchical regression analyses. Participants were classified based on a structured diagnostic interview, completed self-report questionnaires assessing experiences of gratification and compensation during shopping, and a 14-day end-of-day ambulatory assessment, evaluating mental imagery intensity., Results: Women with pathological buying-shopping reported significantly more intense shopping-specific mental imagery compared to women with non-problematic buying-shopping. Mental imagery was significantly predicted only by compensatory experiences in the pathological buying-shopping group with medium effect sizes., Discussion: The findings suggest that in OCBSD, mental images likely arise from to the anticipated effects of relief, possibly indicating a maladaptive coping strategy., Competing Interests: AB reports financial support was provided by German Research Foundation. MB reports financial support was provided by German Research Foundation. MB reports a relationship with International Society for the Studies of Behavioral Addictions that includes: board membership. MB reports a relationship with German Federal Ministry of Education and Research that includes: funding grants. MB reports a relationship with Horizon Europe that includes: funding grants. MB has performed grant reviews for research-funding agencies; has edited journals and journal sections; has given academic lectures in clinical or scientific venues; and has generated book chapters for publishers of mental health texts. AM reports financial support was provided by German Research Foundation. AM reports a relationship with International Society for the Studies of Behavioral Addictions that includes: board membership. AM has edited journals and journal sections, has given academic lectures in clinical or scientific venues, and has generated book chapters for publishers of mental health texts.The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder is a new category in the 11th version of the International Classification of Diseases and is showing neuropsychological similarities to substance dependencies and behavioral addictions., Aims: This experimental study aims to further our knowledge on implicit associations in Compulsive Sexual Behavior (CSB) with a clinical sample., Methods: Participants completed an Implicit Association Test modified with pornographic pictures. In addition, problematic sexual behavior and sensitivity toward sexual excitation were assessed., Outcomes: We collected data on implicit associations from 47 heterosexual men with CSB (age, M = 36.51, SD = 11.47) and a control group of 38 men without the condition (age: M = 37.92, SD = 12.33)., Results: Results show significantly more positive relationships between implicit associations of pornographic pictures with positive emotions, as well as with problematic sexual behavior and sensitivity toward sexual excitation, in men with CSB vs. men without CSB. Furthermore, implicit associations, sexual excitation, and sexual inhibition due to threat of performance consequences differentiated significantly between groups using a binary stepwise logistic regression analysis. The findings are in line with those of previous subclinical investigations and support the assumption of pronounced positive implicit associations in CSB. Moreover, as suggested by the I-PACE model of addictive behaviors, implicit associations may be crucial to the maintenance of behavioral addictions., Clinical Implications: Implicit associations could be addressed in therapy to illustrate cognitive processes of those affected and as an outcome measure in research on treatment efficiency., Strengths & Limitations: The present study is the first to investigate implicit associations in CSB in a clinical sample. Findings are limited to heterosexual men., Conclusion: Findings can be seen in accordance with a proposed classification of CSB as a behavioral addiction., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest., (© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society of Sexual Medicine.)