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Review
. 2024 Aug;21(3):59-61.
doi: 10.1192/bji.2024.9.

Spirituality and behavioural addictions: narrative review

Mitika Kanabar  1 , Preethy Kathiresan  2 , Hussien Elkholy  3 , Arash Khojasteh Zonoozi  4 , Laura Orsolini  5 , Jiang Long  6 , Mehdi Farokhnia  7 , Roshan Bhad  8 , Jenna L Butner  9 , Francina Fonseca  10 , Vicky Phan  11 , Sophia Achab  12 , Marc N Potenza  13
Affiliations
Review

Spirituality and behavioural addictions: narrative review

Mitika Kanabar et al. BJPsych Int. 2024 Aug.

Abstract

The relationship between spirituality and behavioural addictions is complex. Although some studies have suggested spirituality to be a protective factor helping in recovery from addictive behaviours, others have found spirituality to be a potential risk factor. To better understand the relationship between spirituality and various behavioural addictions, this review summarises the literature on the association between spirituality and the following behavioural addictions: gaming disorder, gambling disorder, problematic internet use, problematic smartphone use, compulsive sexual behaviour disorder and compulsive buying/shopping disorder. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.

Keywords: Mental health services; patients and service users; philosophy; psychosocial interventions; transcultural psychiatry.

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Conflict of interest statement

M.F. is supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) intramural funding (ZIA-DA000635 and ZIA-AA000218), outside of this research. H.E. is a member of the BJPsych International editorial board and did not take part in the review or decision-making process of this paper.

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