Defining compulsive behavior
Journal article
Luigjes, Judy, Lorenzetti, Valentina, de Haan, Sanneke, Youssef, George J., Murawski, Carsten, Sjoerds, Zsuzsika, van den Brink, Wim, Denys, Damiaan, Fontenelle, Leonardo F. and Yücel, Murat. (2019). Defining compulsive behavior. Neuropsychology Review. 29(1), pp. 4-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-019-09404-9
Authors | Luigjes, Judy, Lorenzetti, Valentina, de Haan, Sanneke, Youssef, George J., Murawski, Carsten, Sjoerds, Zsuzsika, van den Brink, Wim, Denys, Damiaan, Fontenelle, Leonardo F. and Yücel, Murat |
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Abstract | Compulsive tendencies are a central feature of problematic human behavior and thereby are of great interest to the scientific and clinical community. However, no consensus exists about the precise meaning of ‘compulsivity,’ creating confusion in the field and hampering comparison across psychiatric disorders. A vague conceptualization makes compulsivity a moving target encompassing a fluctuating variety of behaviors, which is unlikely to improve the new dimension-based psychiatric or psychopathology approach. This article aims to help progress the definition of what constitutes compulsive behavior, cross-diagnostically, by analyzing different definitions in the psychiatric literature. We searched PubMed for articles in human psychiatric research with ‘compulsive behavior’ or ‘compulsivity’ in the title that focused on the broader concept of compulsivity—returning 28 articles with nine original definitions. Within the definitions, we separated three types of descriptive elements: phenomenological, observational and explanatory. The elements most applicable, cross-diagnostically, resulted in this definition: Compulsive behavior consists of repetitive acts that are characterized by the feeling that one ‘has to’ perform them while one is aware that these acts are not in line with one’s overall goal. Having a more unified definition for compulsive behavior will make its meaning precise and explicit, and therefore more transferable and testable across clinical and non-clinical populations. |
Keywords | compulsivity; definition; phenomenology; observational perspective |
Year | 2019 |
Journal | Neuropsychology Review |
Journal citation | 29 (1), pp. 4-13 |
Publisher | Springer New York LLC |
ISSN | 1040-7308 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-019-09404-9 |
Scopus EID | 2-s2.0-85064822527 |
Open access | Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access |
Research or scholarly | Research |
Page range | 4-13 |
Publisher's version | License File Access Level Open |
Output status | Published |
Publication dates | |
Online | 23 Apr 2019 |
Publication process dates | |
Accepted | 27 Mar 2019 |
Deposited | 10 Jul 2021 |
https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8w577/defining-compulsive-behavior
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Publisher's version
OA_Luigjes_2019_Defining_compulsive_behavior.pdf | |
License: CC BY 4.0 | |
File access level: Open |
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