Comorbidity of problematic substance use and other addictive behaviors and anxiety, depression, and post-Traumatic stress disorder: A network analysis

Dvora Shmulewitz, Maor Daniel Levitin, Vera Skvirsky, Merav Vider, Roi Eliashar, Mario Mikulincer*, Shaul Lev-Ran

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background Among those with common mental health disorders (e.g. mood, anxiety, and stress disorders), comorbidity of substance and other addictive disorders is prevalent. To simplify the seemingly complex relationships underlying such comorbidity, methods that include multiple measures to distill which specific addictions are uniquely associated with specific mental health disorders rather than due to the co-occurrence of other related addictions or mental health disorders can be used. Methods In a general population sample of Jewish adults in Israel (N = 4002), network analysis methods were used to create partial correlation networks of continuous measures of problematic substance (non-medical use of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and prescription sedatives, stimulants, and opioid painkillers) and behavioral (gambling, electronic gaming, sexual behavior, pornography, internet, social media, and smartphone) addictions and common mental health problems (depression, anxiety, and post-Traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]), adjusted for all variables in the model. Results Strongest associations were observed within these clusters: (1) PTSD, anxiety, and depression; (2) problematic substance use and gambling; (3) technology-based addictive behaviors; and (4) problematic sexual behavior and pornography. In terms of comorbidity, the strongest unique associations were observed for PTSD and problematic technology-based behaviors (social media, smartphone), and sedatives and stimulants use; depression and problematic technology-based behaviors (gaming, internet) and sedatives and cannabis use; and anxiety and problematic smartphone use. Conclusions Network analysis isolated unique relationships underlying the observed comorbidity between common mental health problems and addictions, such as associations between mental health problems and technology-based behaviors, which is informative for more focused interventions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4635-4645
Number of pages11
JournalPsychological Medicine
Volume54
Issue number16
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Dec 2024

Keywords

  • addictive behaviors
  • anxiety
  • comorbidity
  • depression
  • network analysis
  • post-Traumatic stress disorder
  • problematic substance use

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Comorbidity of problematic substance use and other addictive behaviors and anxiety, depression, and post-Traumatic stress disorder: A network analysis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this