Psychometric properties of the transaddiction craving triggers questionnaire in alcohol use disorder.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to develop the transaddiction craving triggers questionnaire (TCTQ), which assesses the propensity of specific situations and contexts to trigger craving and to test its psychometric properties in alcohol use disorder (AUD). METHODS: This study included a sample of 111 AUD outpatients. We performed exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and calculated item-dimension correlations. Internal consistency was measured with Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Construct validity was assessed through Spearman correlations with craving, emotional symptoms, impulsivity, mindfulness, and drinking characteristics. RESULTS: The EFA suggested a 3-factor solution: unpleasant affect, pleasant affect, and cues and related thoughts. Cronbach's coefficient alpha ranged from .80 to .95 for the three factors and the total score. Weak positive correlations were identified between the TCTQ and drinking outcomes, and moderate correlation were found between the TCTQ and craving strength, impulsivity, anxiety, depression, and impact of alcohol on quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: The 3-factor structure is congruent with the well-established propensity of emotions and cues to trigger craving. Construct validity is supported by close relations between the TCTQ and psychological well-being rather than between the TCTQ and drinking behaviors. Longitudinal validation is warranted to assess sensitivity to change of the TCTQ and to explore its psychometric properties in other addictive disorders

Les thérapies cognitivo-comportementales en addictologie.

International audienc

Sharpen the focus on chemsex

Chemsex is the intentional use of substances in sexualized settings among men who have sex with men. An increasing public health issue, chemsex has estimated prevalence rates of 3% to 29% in men who have sex with men. Known risks of chemsex include higher exposure to HIV and other STIs, addiction, and cardiovascular problems. Recent research has also shown that chemsexers are prone to depression, anxiety, psychotic experiences, and cognitive impairment. Our commentary highlights the discrepancy between the public health burden associated with risky chemsex practices and the research gap in this domain. We warn against the simplistic application to chemsex of existing theoretical concepts or therapeutic strategies that work for addictions and at-risk sexual behaviours. Such an approach neglects the unique features of this emerging phenomenon, which mainly affects stigmatized minorities

Réflexions sur la pleine conscience et l’autocompassion pour le traitement des addictions

International audienceLa pleine conscience et l’autocompassion sont deux concepts très liés. Les thérapies basées sur l’une de ces deux pratiques intègrent souvent l’autre. Ces formes de thérapies issues des thérapies dites de la troisième vague des thérapies cognitives et comportementales suscitent un intérêt croissant dans le traitement des addictions. Notre objectif est de proposer une définition de ces concepts ainsi que de rapporter de leur intérêt et de leur application dans le traitement des addictions. Nous décrirons le déroulement des séances et les techniques utilisées dans le programme Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP), ainsi que les différentes dimensions que composent les thérapies basées sur l’autocompassion et leur importance à la fois pour le patient et le soignant

Mindfulness and addictions : an evaluation of the MBRP (Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention) program in patients with addiction with or without substance

L’objectif de ce travail de thèse était d’évaluer la faisabilité, l’acceptabilité et de fournir des résultats préliminaires du programme MBRP (Mindfulness Based relapse prevention) pour le traitement des addictions. Dans un premier lieu ce travail nous a permis de démontrer que ce programme représentait un type de prise en charge thérapeutique acceptable et faisable pour le traitement du trouble de l’usage de l’alcool. La participation au programme augmentait le niveau de pleine conscience et de flexibilité psychologique et réduisait le craving. Ensuite, nous avons pu identifier que la pratique à domicile, occupant une place centrale dans les traitements basés sur la pleine conscience, était facilitée par la motivation initiale des participants et de leur sentiment d’auto-efficacité quant à la capacité de mettre en place une pratique, à l’inverse, l’impression de « mal faire » ou l’absence d’effets immédiats de la pratique présentait un frein à la pratique autonome. Nous avons également pu rendre compte de l’intérêt de ce programme pour le traitement du trouble lié à la pratique de jeu d’argent et de hasard. A travers nos résultats descriptifs, nous avons pu montrer que la méditation de pleine conscience était un outil dont la majorité des patients joueurs se saisissaient volontiers pour gérer les envies de jeu et l’impulsivité. Nous avons trouvé que la participation au programme a permis de réduire la pratique de jeu, les symptômes de jeu, le craving, ainsi que les symptômes dépressifs et anxieux et augmenter le niveau de pleine conscience. Par ailleurs nous avons pu montrer à travers un cas clinique, que l’association de la pratique de pleine conscience et de training cognitif, pouvait représenter une prise en charge complémentaire et augmenter le contrôle de soi, chez une patiente résistante aux TCC classiques. Nous avons également montré que l’initiation à la pleine conscience chez des soignants travaillant dans le domaine de l’addictologie a été très bien accueillie, qu’en moyenne ils ont participés à 4 séances sur 5 et qu’ils ont tous mis en place une pratique autonome après l’initiation en groupe. Pour finir nous avons validé le Transdiagnostic Craving Trigger Questionnaire (TCTQ) visant à évaluer les déclencheurs de craving, dans une population présentant un trouble de l’usage de l’alcool. Nos analyses ont montré une solution à trois facteurs, les émotions désagréables, les émotions agréables et les déclencheurs externes et pensées associées aux consommations. Finalement ce travail de thèse nous a permis de conclure que le programme MBRP est un programme qui a tout son intérêt pour le traitement des addictions avec ou sans substances. Nous avons pu montrer qu’il agissait sur des processus sous-jacents de cette pathologie tels que les affectes dépressifs et l’anxiété, qu’il permettait de réduire le craving et qu’il mobilisait des ressources telles que la flexibilité psychologique. Nous avons l’objectif de conduire des travaux supplémentaires afin de pouvoir statuer sur son efficacité en comparaison à une condition contrôle.The purpose of this work was to investigate feasibility, acceptability and preliminary outcomes of the MBRP (Mindfulness Based relapse prevention) program as a treatment of addictions. First, this work allowed us to establish that this program represented an acceptable and feasible therapeutic approach as a treatment for alcohol use disorders and that it increased the level of mindfulness and psychological flexibility and reduced craving. Secondly, we were able to identify that home practice, which is central to mindfulness-based treatments, was facilitated by the participants' initial motivation and their feeling of self-efficacy in terms of their ability to set up a practice, while the impression of "doing wrong" or the absence of immediate effects of the practice was a barrier to it. We have also been able to highlight the interest of this program as a treatment for gambling disorder. Through our descriptive results, we showed that mindfulness meditation was a tool that most gamblers readily used to manage craving and impulsive behavior. In addition, we found that participating in the program reduced gambling, gambling symptoms, craving, as well as depression and anxiety and increased mindfulness levels. In addition, we were able to show by examining a case report that the combination of the MBRP program and cognitive training could increase self-control in a patient who was resistant to conventional CBTs. We have also shown that the initiation to mindfulness among caregivers working in an addiction facility has been very well received. On average they participated in 4 out of 5 sessions and, all set up a personal home practice after the group initiation. Finally, we validated the Transdiagnostic Craving Trigger Questionnaire (TCTQ) to assess craving triggers in a population with an alcohol use disorder. Our analyses showed a three-factor solution, composed of unpleasant emotions, pleasant emotions and external triggers and associated thoughts. This thesis work allowed us to conclude that the MBRP program has a strong interest in the treatment of addictive disorders, with or without substances. We were able to show that it worked on underlying processes of this disorder, such as depression and anxiety, that it reduced craving and that it was a way of mobilizing resources, such as psychological flexibility. Our objective is to carry out further research which would allow us to state on its efficacy as compared to a control condition

Mindfulness et addictions : évaluation du programme MBRP (Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention) chez des patients présentant une addiction avec ou sans substance

The purpose of this work was to investigate feasibility, acceptability and preliminary outcomes of the MBRP (Mindfulness Based relapse prevention) program as a treatment of addictions. First, this work allowed us to establish that this program represented an acceptable and feasible therapeutic approach as a treatment for alcohol use disorders and that it increased the level of mindfulness and psychological flexibility and reduced craving. Secondly, we were able to identify that home practice, which is central to mindfulness-based treatments, was facilitated by the participants' initial motivation and their feeling of self-efficacy in terms of their ability to set up a practice, while the impression of "doing wrong" or the absence of immediate effects of the practice was a barrier to it. We have also been able to highlight the interest of this program as a treatment for gambling disorder. Through our descriptive results, we showed that mindfulness meditation was a tool that most gamblers readily used to manage craving and impulsive behavior. In addition, we found that participating in the program reduced gambling, gambling symptoms, craving, as well as depression and anxiety and increased mindfulness levels. In addition, we were able to show by examining a case report that the combination of the MBRP program and cognitive training could increase self-control in a patient who was resistant to conventional CBTs. We have also shown that the initiation to mindfulness among caregivers working in an addiction facility has been very well received. On average they participated in 4 out of 5 sessions and, all set up a personal home practice after the group initiation. Finally, we validated the Transdiagnostic Craving Trigger Questionnaire (TCTQ) to assess craving triggers in a population with an alcohol use disorder. Our analyses showed a three-factor solution, composed of unpleasant emotions, pleasant emotions and external triggers and associated thoughts. This thesis work allowed us to conclude that the MBRP program has a strong interest in the treatment of addictive disorders, with or without substances. We were able to show that it worked on underlying processes of this disorder, such as depression and anxiety, that it reduced craving and that it was a way of mobilizing resources, such as psychological flexibility. Our objective is to carry out further research which would allow us to state on its efficacy as compared to a control condition.L’objectif de ce travail de thèse était d’évaluer la faisabilité, l’acceptabilité et de fournir des résultats préliminaires du programme MBRP (Mindfulness Based relapse prevention) pour le traitement des addictions. Dans un premier lieu ce travail nous a permis de démontrer que ce programme représentait un type de prise en charge thérapeutique acceptable et faisable pour le traitement du trouble de l’usage de l’alcool. La participation au programme augmentait le niveau de pleine conscience et de flexibilité psychologique et réduisait le craving. Ensuite, nous avons pu identifier que la pratique à domicile, occupant une place centrale dans les traitements basés sur la pleine conscience, était facilitée par la motivation initiale des participants et de leur sentiment d’auto-efficacité quant à la capacité de mettre en place une pratique, à l’inverse, l’impression de « mal faire » ou l’absence d’effets immédiats de la pratique présentait un frein à la pratique autonome. Nous avons également pu rendre compte de l’intérêt de ce programme pour le traitement du trouble lié à la pratique de jeu d’argent et de hasard. A travers nos résultats descriptifs, nous avons pu montrer que la méditation de pleine conscience était un outil dont la majorité des patients joueurs se saisissaient volontiers pour gérer les envies de jeu et l’impulsivité. Nous avons trouvé que la participation au programme a permis de réduire la pratique de jeu, les symptômes de jeu, le craving, ainsi que les symptômes dépressifs et anxieux et augmenter le niveau de pleine conscience. Par ailleurs nous avons pu montrer à travers un cas clinique, que l’association de la pratique de pleine conscience et de training cognitif, pouvait représenter une prise en charge complémentaire et augmenter le contrôle de soi, chez une patiente résistante aux TCC classiques. Nous avons également montré que l’initiation à la pleine conscience chez des soignants travaillant dans le domaine de l’addictologie a été très bien accueillie, qu’en moyenne ils ont participés à 4 séances sur 5 et qu’ils ont tous mis en place une pratique autonome après l’initiation en groupe. Pour finir nous avons validé le Transdiagnostic Craving Trigger Questionnaire (TCTQ) visant à évaluer les déclencheurs de craving, dans une population présentant un trouble de l’usage de l’alcool. Nos analyses ont montré une solution à trois facteurs, les émotions désagréables, les émotions agréables et les déclencheurs externes et pensées associées aux consommations. Finalement ce travail de thèse nous a permis de conclure que le programme MBRP est un programme qui a tout son intérêt pour le traitement des addictions avec ou sans substances. Nous avons pu montrer qu’il agissait sur des processus sous-jacents de cette pathologie tels que les affectes dépressifs et l’anxiété, qu’il permettait de réduire le craving et qu’il mobilisait des ressources telles que la flexibilité psychologique. Nous avons l’objectif de conduire des travaux supplémentaires afin de pouvoir statuer sur son efficacité en comparaison à une condition contrôle

All the players catch their luck..but...some more than others: What about problem gambling in France?

International audienc

Burden and help-seeking behaviors linked to problem gambling and gaming: Observational quantitative and qualitative analysis

International audienceBackground: Models based on the uniqueness of addiction processes between behavioral addictions are highly contentious, and the inclusion of gaming disorder in the addiction nosography remains controversial. An exploratory approach could clarify a hypothesized common and subjectively identifiable process in addictive behaviors and the necessarily different expressions of the disorder due to behavior specificities, in particular the sociocultural characteristics and profiles of users. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the nature of contacts to a help service by exploring commonality and specificities of burden and help-seeking for problem gambling or gaming. Methods: This was an observational quantitative-qualitative study. We included all contacts (ie, online questions and contacts by phone or chat when the helper completed a summary) to a helpline for gamers, gamblers, and relatives over a 7-year period. We constituted a text corpus with online questions and summaries of contacts by phone or chat. We collected basic sociodemographic data, including the device used to contact the service (phone or internet), contacting the service for oneself ("user") or being a relative of a user and type of relative, gambling (yes/no), gaming (yes/no), and age and sex of the gambler/gamer. We describe the corpus descriptively and report the computerized qualitative analysis of online questions, chat, and summary of phone calls. We performed a descendant hierarchical analysis on the data. Results: A total of 14,564 contacts were made to the helpline, including 10,017 users and 4547 relatives. The corpus was composed of six classes: (1) gaming specificities, (2) shared psychological distress and negative emotions, (3) the procedure for being banned from gambling, (4) the provided help, (5) gambling specificities, and (6) financial problems. Conclusions: Negative emotions and shared distress linked to gambling and gaming support current scientific consensus that these behaviors can produce psychological distress in se; however, meaningful differences were observed in core symptoms of addiction between gamers and gamblers, beyond specificities related to the behavior itself: Loss of control was elicited in the class corresponding to gambling specificities and not by gamers and their relatives

Burden and help-seeking behaviors linked to problem gambling and gaming: observational quantitative and qualitative analysis.

BACKGROUND: Models based on the uniqueness of addiction processes between behavioral addictions are highly contentious, and the inclusion of gaming disorder in the addiction nosography remains controversial. An exploratory approach could clarify a hypothesized common and subjectively identifiable process in addictive behaviors and the necessarily different expressions of the disorder due to behavior specificities, in particular the sociocultural characteristics and profiles of users. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe the nature of contacts to a help service by exploring commonality and specificities of burden and help-seeking for problem gambling or gaming. METHODS: This was an observational quantitative-qualitative study. We included all contacts (ie, online questions and contacts by phone or chat when the helper completed a summary) to a helpline for gamers, gamblers, and relatives over a 7-year period. We constituted a text corpus with online questions and summaries of contacts by phone or chat. We collected basic sociodemographic data, including the device used to contact the service (phone or internet), contacting the service for oneself ("user") or being a relative of a user and type of relative, gambling (yes/no), gaming (yes/no), and age and sex of the gambler/gamer. We describe the corpus descriptively and report the computerized qualitative analysis of online questions, chat, and summary of phone calls. We performed a descendant hierarchical analysis on the data. RESULTS: A total of 14,564 contacts were made to the helpline, including 10,017 users and 4547 relatives. The corpus was composed of six classes: (1) gaming specificities, (2) shared psychological distress and negative emotions, (3) the procedure for being banned from gambling, (4) the provided help, (5) gambling specificities, and (6) financial problems. CONCLUSIONS: Negative emotions and shared distress linked to gambling and gaming support current scientific consensus that these behaviors can produce psychological distress in se; however, meaningful differences were observed in core symptoms of addiction between gamers and gamblers, beyond specificities related to the behavior itself: loss of control was elicited in the class corresponding to gambling specificities and not by gamers and their relatives

Spilling the tea about milk tea addiction - A reply to Qu et al. (2023)

The recent paper titled “New form of addiction: An emerging hazardous addiction problem of milk tea among youths” by Qu et al. (2023) has already attracted mass media attention at the international level, with journalists eagerly relaying the worrisome conclusions and recommendations made by the authors. The authors convey the view that “milk tea addiction” exists among the Chinese population and boldly state that this addiction is relevant from a public health perspective, based on its positive correlation with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Qu et al. (2023) even call for the regulation of the milk tea industry by either “restricting advertising”, “providing psychoeducation”, or “establishing food hygiene standards”. In the current correspondence, we explain why some basic conceptual and methodological limitations of Qu et al.'s (2023) study hinder in making such recommendations