A National Survey Indicates Support for the Inclusion of Additional Behavioral Addictions as Addictive Disorders

Background and aims: Behavioral addictions have been a topic of debate, research and controversy in recent years. Their inclusion in DSM-5 and ICD-11, albeit partially, have further brought the debate to light. A national survey among psychiatrists in Israel showed results relevant to the discussion. Methods: An electronic survey using Google Docs format was distributed among psychiatrists in Israel using professional groups and email. Psychiatrists were asked about their familiarity with DSM-5 gambling disorder diagnosis, about their agreement with the recent diagnostic changes and about the extent to which they actually use the gambling disorder diagnosis in their daily clinal routine. In addition, they were asked to what extent they viewed any of four addictive behaviors as distinct clinical disorders, focusing on behaviors related to gambling, sex, gaming and smartphones. Results: ~10%of practicing psychiatrists in Israel answered the survey. An overwhelming majority favored inclusion of behavioral addictions as distinct clinical diagnoses. Younger age and female gender were associated with higher support for the clinical diagnosis model. For each of the four addiction categories, an individual’s view was only moderately correlated with the view that he or she expressed for the remaining three behaviors. Discussion and conclusion: This study demonstrates that among a representative sample of psychiatrists in Israel there is a wide, although not unanimous, support for the emerging concept of broadening the DSM’s addictions section to encompass key behavioral addictions and regard them as discrete diagnoses.