Heightened Negative Affects Associated With Neurotic Personality in Behavioral Addiction

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Negative affects are recognized in drug addiction but less understood in behavioral addiction.
• Behavioral addictions, including paraphilia and kleptomania, warrant investigation into their affective components.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate negative affects in patients diagnosed with behavioral addiction.
• To explore the relationship between negative affects, objective assessments, and personality traits in behavioral addicts.

Main Methods:

• Utilized self-rating questionnaires to assess negative affects.
• Employed objective assessments and measured blood stress hormone concentrations.
• Examined personality traits, specifically neuroticism, in behavioral addicts and control subjects.

Main Results:

• Behavioral addicts reported higher levels of explicit, self-referential negative affects (anxiety, stress, depression) compared to controls.
• Subjective negative affects showed partial consistency with objective evaluations and stress hormone levels.
• Heightened negative affects in behavioral addicts correlated with a stronger neurotic personality.

Conclusions:

• Behavioral addictions may be characterized by elevated negative affects.
• Stronger neurotic personality traits appear to contribute to heightened negative affects in behavioral addiction.
• Further research is needed to confirm these findings in larger populations.