Article, 2024
Prevalence of the Risk of Exercise Addiction Based on a New Classification: A Cross-Sectional Study in 15 Countries
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction,
ISSN
1557-1874,
1557-1882,
Pages 1-22,
10.1007/s11469-024-01322-z
Contributors
Chhabra, Bhavya
0000-0002-8309-3171
[1]
Granziol, Umberto
0000-0002-6286-6569
(Corresponding author)
[2]
Griffiths, Mark Damian
0000-0001-8880-6524
[3]
Zandonai, Thomas
0000-0002-7606-9675
[4]
[5]
Landolfi, Emilio
[6]
Solmi, Marco
0000-0003-4877-7233
[7]
[8]
[9]
Zou, Li-Ye
0000-0001-6411-5710
[10]
Yang, Peiying
[10]
[11]
Lichtenstein, Mia Beck
0000-0002-7885-9187
[12]
Stoll, Oliver
[13]
Akimoto, Takayuki
[14]
Cantú-Berrueto, Abril
0000-0001-6168-1354
[15]
Larios, Angelica
[15]
Egorov, Aleksei Y.
[16]
De La Vega Marcos, Ricardo
0000-0002-7395-3297
[17]
Alpay, Merve
0000-0003-0648-5793
[18]
Nazlıgül, Merve Denizci
0000-0002-6516-7341
[19]
Yildirim, Mustafa
[20]
Trott, Mike
[21]
Portman, Robert M
0000-0003-0012-871X
[22]
Szabo, A Kenderessy
0000-0003-2788-4304
[1]
[23]
Affiliations
- [1]
Eötvös Loránd University
[NORA names:
Hungary; Europe, EU; OECD];
- [2]
University of Padua
[NORA names:
Italy; Europe, EU; OECD];
- [3]
Nottingham Trent University
[NORA names:
United Kingdom; Europe, Non-EU; OECD];
- [4]
Miguel Hernandez University
[NORA names:
Spain; Europe, EU; OECD];
- [5]
University of Trento
[NORA names:
Italy; Europe, EU; OECD];
(... more)
- [6]
University of the Fraser Valley
[NORA names:
Canada; America, North; OECD];
- [7]
Charité - University Medicine Berlin
[NORA names:
Germany; Europe, EU; OECD];
- [8]
Ottawa Hospital
[NORA names:
Canada; America, North; OECD];
- [9]
University of Ottawa
[NORA names:
Canada; America, North; OECD];
- [10]
Shenzhen University
[NORA names:
China; Asia, East];
- [11]
University of Edinburgh
[NORA names:
United Kingdom; Europe, Non-EU; OECD];
- [12]
University of Southern Denmark
[NORA names:
SDU University of Southern Denmark;
University; Denmark; Europe, EU; Nordic; OECD];
- [13]
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
[NORA names:
Germany; Europe, EU; OECD];
- [14]
Waseda University
[NORA names:
Japan; Asia, East; OECD];
- [15]
University Autonomous of Nuevo León (UNAM), San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico
[NORA names:
Mexico; America, Central; OECD];
- [16]
Indipendent Researcher, Haifa, Israel
[NORA names:
Israel; Asia, Middle East; OECD];
- [17]
Autonomous University of Madrid
[NORA names:
Spain; Europe, EU; OECD];
- [18]
Sivas Cumhuriyet University
[NORA names:
Turkey; Asia, Middle East; OECD];
- [19]
Independent Researcher, Istanbul, Türkiye
[NORA names:
Turkey; Asia, Middle East; OECD];
- [20]
Ruhr University Bochum
[NORA names:
Germany; Europe, EU; OECD];
- [21]
University of Queensland
[NORA names:
Australia; Oceania; OECD];
- [22]
Teesside University
[NORA names:
United Kingdom; Europe, Non-EU; OECD];
- [23]
Széchenyi István University
[NORA names:
Hungary; Europe, EU; OECD]
(less)
Abstract
Exercise addiction is widely studied, but an official clinical diagnosis does not exist for this behavioral addiction. Earlier research using various screening instruments examined the absolute scale values while investigating the disorder. The Exercise Addiction Inventory-3 (EAI-3) was recently developed with two subscales, one denoting health-relevant exercise and the other addictive tendencies. The latter has different cutoff values for leisure exercisers and elite athletes. Therefore, the present 15-country study (n = 3,760) used the EAI-3 to classify the risk of exercise addiction (REA), but only if the participant reported having had a negative exercise-related experience. Based on this classification, the prevalence of REA was 9.5% in the sample. No sex differences, and few cross-national differences were found. However, collectivist countries reported greater REA in various exercise contexts than individualist countries. Moreover, the REA among athletes was (i) twice as high as leisure exercisers, (ii) higher in organized than self-planned exercises, irrespective of athletic status, and (iii) higher among those who exercised for skill/mastery reasons than for health and social reasons, again irrespective of athletic status. Eating disorders were more frequent among REA-affected individuals than in the rest of the sample. These results do not align with recent theoretical arguments claiming that exercise addiction is unlikely to be fostered in organized sports. The present study questions the current research framework for understanding exercise addiction and offers a new alternative to segregate self-harming exercise from passionate overindulgence in athletic life.
Keywords
New,
No sex differences,
addiction,
addiction tendency,
alternative,
arguments,
athlete status,
athlete's life,
athletes,
behavioral addictions,
classification,
clinical diagnosis,
collectivistic countries,
context,
countries,
cross-national differences,
cross-sectional study,
cutoff,
cutoff value,
diagnosis,
differences,
disorders,
eating,
eating disorders,
elite athletes,
exercise,
exercise addiction,
exercise context,
experiments,
framework,
health,
individualistic countries,
individuals,
instrument,
leisure,
leisure exercise,
life,
new classification,
overindulgence,
participants,
passion,
prevalence,
reasons,
research,
research framework,
rest,
results,
risk,
risk of exercise addiction,
samples,
scale values,
screening,
screening instrument,
sex differences,
social reasons,
sports,
status,
study,
subscales,
tendency,
theoretical arguments,
values
Data Provider: Digital Science