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Mapping affective pathways to compulsion: Insights from an aversive devaluation approach
Samantha N Sallie1, Violeta Casero1, Saurabh Sonkusare1
11Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Journal of Behavioral Addictions
|November 19, 2025
Summary
Habitual avoidance, linked to emotional dysregulation, predicts compulsive behaviors like addiction and OCD. Internalizing symptoms fully mediate this relationship, highlighting a key pathway for therapeutic intervention.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral neuroscience
- Clinical psychology
- Psychopathology
Background:
- Compulsivity, a transdiagnostic construct, is linked to instrumental control system dysregulation.
- Habitual avoidance's role in compulsivity, particularly via emotion regulation deficits, is less understood than reward-based habit formation.
- Understanding habitual avoidance mechanisms is crucial for addressing diverse maladaptive behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate negative emotionality as a mediator linking habitual avoidance to compulsive behaviors.
- To examine the relationship between habitual avoidance, internalizing symptoms, and various compulsive behaviors.
- To define the mechanisms underlying habitual avoidance in the context of compulsivity.
Main Methods:
- Five hundred adults completed the online Avoidance Dynamics Task (ADT) to assess avoidance learning and habit strength.
- Participants also completed validated self-report measures for compulsive behaviors (alcohol use, binge eating, gambling, OCD symptoms) and internalizing symptoms (depression, anxiety).
- Mediation analysis was employed to test if internalizing symptoms explained the link between habitual avoidance and compulsive behavior severity.
Main Results:
- Habitual avoidance was positively associated with avoidance urges, regulatory control deficits, and internalizing symptoms.
- Internalizing symptoms fully mediated the relationship between habitual avoidance and all measured compulsive behaviors.
- Impaired avoidance learning was modestly linked to increased alcohol use and gambling severity.
Conclusions:
- Habitual avoidance may serve as a transdiagnostic behavioral marker for compulsivity.
- Findings highlight distinct vulnerability pathways across compulsive domains, emphasizing the role of emotional dysregulation.
- Remote assessment tools can effectively phenotype maladaptive avoidance and associated emotional dysregulation.
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