Background: An increasing number of studies are concerned with various aspects of cybersex addiction, the difficulty some persons have in limiting cybersex use despite a negative impact on everyday life. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess potential links between the outcome variable cybersex addiction, assessed with the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS) adapted for cybersex use, and several psychological and psychopathological factors, including sexual desire, mood, attachment style, impulsivity, and self-esteem, by taking into account the age, sex, and sexual orientation of cybersex users. Methods: A Web-based survey was conducted in which participants were assessed for sociodemographic variables and with the following instruments: CIUS adapted for cybersex use, Sexual Desire Inventory, and Short Depression-Happiness Scale. Moreover, attachment style was assessed with the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised questionnaire (Anxiety and Avoidance subscales). Impulsivity was measured by using the Urgency, Premeditation (lack of), Perseverance (lack of), Sensation Seeking, Positive Urgency Impulsive Behavior Scale. Global self-esteem was assessed with the 1-item Self-Esteem Scale. Results: A sample of 145 subjects completed the study. Addictive cybersex use was associated with higher levels of sexual desire, depressive mood, avoidant attachment style, and male gender but not with impulsivity. Conclusions: Addictive cybersex use is a function of sexual desire, depressive mood, and avoidant attachment.

Background: The Internet Addiction Test (IAT) is the most widely used questionnaire to screen for problematic Internet use. Nevertheless, its factorial structure is still debated, which complicates comparisons among existing studies. Most previous studies were performed with students or community samples despite the probability of there being more problematic Internet use among users of specific applications, such as online gaming or gambling. Objective: To assess the factorial structure of a modified version of the IAT that addresses specific applications, such as video games and online poker. Methods: Two adult samples—one sample of Internet gamers (n=920) and one sample of online poker players (n=214)—were recruited and completed an online version of the modified IAT. Both samples were split into two subsamples. Two principal component analyses (PCAs) followed by two confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were run separately. Results: The results of principal component analysis indicated that a one-factor model fit the data well across both samples. In consideration of the weakness of some IAT items, a 17-item modified version of the IAT was proposed. Conclusions: This study assessed, for the first time, the factorial structure of a modified version of an Internet-administered IAT on a sample of Internet gamers and a sample of online poker players. The scale seems appropriate for the assessment of such online behaviors. Further studies on the modified 17-item IAT version are needed.

Gaming disorder (GD) is a new health condition still requiring a lot of evidence established around its underlying and related psychological mechanisms. In our study we focused on Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs), a specific very popular and engaging game genre, to determine that benefit, motivation and control aspects could be predictive of a dysfunctional engagement in gaming. In total, 313 participants were recruited from private forums of gamers between May 2009 and March 2010. They filled out a questionnaire on their socio-demographic data and their weekly gaming time. They also completed different psychometric assessments such as the DSM IV-TR criteria for substance dependence adapted to gaming such as the Dependence Adapted Scale (DAS), the external rewards they expected from gaming (External Motives), the expected internal reward they expected from gaming (Internal Motives), the Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale (ZSSS), and the Barratt impulsiveness Scale (BIS-10). Results showed that some psychological factors related to online gaming represented risk factors for GD in participants (i.e., competition and advancement motives, reduced anxiety, solace, greater personal satisfaction, and sense of power), whereas some others were found to be protective factors from GD (i.e., recreation, enjoyment and experience seeking) in participants. Additionally, the study found that disinhibition, boredom susceptibility, thrill and adventure seeking, and high impulsivity were correlated to GD in participants. In conclusion, not only motives for gaming and impulsivity could be predictors for GD, but maladaptive coping strategies based on experienced relief in-game from negative feelings (anxiety and boredom) or experienced improvement in-game of self-perception (personal satisfaction, sense of power) could play as well a role of negative reinforcers for GD. Some benefits from gaming, typically entertainment and enjoyment, are shown to be protective factors from GD, playing the role of positive reinforcing factors. They are worthy of being identified and promoted as functional gaming habits. These findings can feed the clinical and health promotion fields, with a more in-depth understanding of diverse psychological factors in gamers, identifying those at risk for GD and those protective from it. The current work can foster a more balanced approach towards gaming activities, taking their opportunities for mankind and controlling for their adverse effects in some individuals.

Motives to use cannabis play a central role in the development and maintenance of problematic cannabis use and previous studies stressed sex-related differences on motives to use cannabis. However, motives cannot be validly compared in men and women without first establishing the measurement invariance across sex. Therefore, the aim of the study is to (1) examine for the first time the measurement and structural invariance of the Marijuana Motives Measure (MMM) across sex, and (2) to investigate the motives for cannabis use that best explain problematic use. 2951 (41.7% women) users of the "Stop cannabis" smartphone app of which 99.8% reported having used cannabis in the last three months completed an online MMM and ASSIST to assess the severity of their problematic cannabis use. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses supported measurement invariance across sex, whereas structural invariance was not confirmed. Indeed, group comparisons indicated that women reported greater coping motives then men whereas men showed greater social motives than women. A multiple linear regression analysis showed that only coping and conformity motives were significantly associated with greater problematic cannabis use, whereas neither sex nor the sex by motives interactions were significantly related to problematic cannabis use. The MMM appears to function comparably across men and women. Therefore, sex-related comparisons on the questionnaire can be considered valid. Coping and conformity motives may play a central role part in the development of marijuana use problems which may hold implications for intervention development and public policy.

Dual diagnosis is common in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), one of the most common being Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Previous studies have shown that general psychiatric management (GPM) was effective in reducing borderline symptoms. In the present study, we tested whether the short GPM was as effective in the BPD + SUD as in the BPD group. We analysed a group of 99 patients presenting a BPD. 51 of these patients presented a SUD. The BPD group and the BPD + SUD group received a manual-based short variant of the GPM treatment. Previous studies have shown that a 10-session version of GPM was effective in reducing borderline symptoms at the end of the treatment (Psychother Psychosom 83:176–86, 2014). We found no significant difference in the reduction of general symptoms, which diminished in both groups. The specific borderline symptoms were also reduced in both groups, but there was a slightly higher reduction of the borderline symptoms in the SUD group. The therapeutic alliance progressed positively in all groups. Moreover, the alliance increased more over time in the SUD group. The short variant of GPM seems to be effective in BPD treatment independently from the presence of SUD. Therefore, this treatment could be an effective entry-level treatment for patients with dual diagnosis as well as patients with BPD only. Further studies are needed to confirm efficacy and long-term outcome. The trial was registered at ClinicalTrial.gov (identifier NCT01896024 ).