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The role of Experiential Avoidance in transdiagnostic compulsive behavior: A structural model analysis.

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Addictive Behaviors
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Summary

Experiential Avoidance (EA) and psychological distress are linked to compulsive behaviors. Distress fully mediates the relationship between EA and compulsivity, highlighting its role in addictive and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

Keywords:
AddictionBinge-eatingCompulsive buyingExperiential AvoidanceGamblingObsessive–compulsive disorder

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Compulsivity is a transdiagnostic phenotype underlying various addictive and obsessive-compulsive behaviors.
  • Understanding the operationalization and maintenance of compulsivity requires further investigation.
  • Experiential Avoidance (EA), the unwillingness to tolerate negative experiences, is a potential contributing factor.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between Experiential Avoidance (EA) and transdiagnostic compulsive behaviors.
  • To examine the mediating role of psychological distress in the EA-compulsivity link.
  • To determine the most appropriate model for conceptualizing compulsivity (one-factor vs. two-factor).

Main Methods:

  • A large sample of 469 adults completed online questionnaires.
  • Measures included Experiential Avoidance (EA), psychological distress, and severity of compulsive behaviors (obsessive-compulsive and addiction-related).
  • Structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed relationships and models.

Main Results:

  • A one-factor model of compulsivity was statistically superior to a two-factor model.
  • Psychological distress fully mediated the effect of EA on compulsivity.
  • EA significantly predicted psychological distress, which in turn strongly predicted compulsivity.

Conclusions:

  • Psychological distress is a key mechanism linking EA to compulsive behaviors.
  • The findings underscore the importance of EA and distress as risk and maintenance factors for compulsivity.
  • Interventions targeting EA and distress may be effective for treating compulsive behaviors.