Addictive BehaviorsCRIBANCT07854912
Is Craving a Central Criterion for Diagnosing a Behavioral Addiction?
An observational study of Addictive Behaviors and Internet Addiction Disorder, run by University of Bordeaux at 1 site in France.
Trial summary
This study is a cross-sectional observational study designed to evaluate the diagnostic criteria for behavioral addictions (gambling, online video game disorder, screen addiction, food addiction, and pathological use of sex and/or pornography). Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Addictive Behaviors, Internet Addiction Disorder, Gambling
- What is being tested?
- Questionnaires and Telephone interview
- How many people
- 150 participants
- Where
- 1 siteFrance
- Study dates
- 2 Sep 2026to Sep 2029
- Phase
- Observational
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Study population: Participants will be recruited in two different ways: either through a public communication campaign using social media and posters promoting the study, or through the KANOPEE app.
Who may be able to join
- Men/Women
- Be over 18 years of age
- No objection to participating in the study after receiving prior information
- Regularly engage in at least one of the behaviors of interest (gambling, video games, eating, screen time, sex/pornography)
Who cannot join
- Difficulty understanding, reading, or writing in French
- Being under legal guardianship or conservatorship, or under judicial protection
- Severe somatic or psychiatric condition incompatible with understanding the assessment tools
- Being pregnant
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
France1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Université de Bordeaux Pôle Addictologie - CH Charles Perrens
Bordeaux
About this study
This study is a cross-sectional observational study designed to evaluate the diagnostic criteria for behavioral addictions (gambling, online video game disorder, screen addiction, food addiction, and pathological use of sex and/or pornography).
The main objective of this project is to explore the value of the "craving" criterion in the diagnosis of behavioral addictions.
Read more
Individuals reporting regular engagement in these different behaviors will be recruited through broad communication campaigns, with the aim of including participants across different levels of severity and thereby better assessing the importance of craving as a diagnostic criterion.
Value of the craving criteria will be evaluated based on:
- its parameters derived from a two-parameter Item Response Theory (IRT) model, namely discrimination (a; the item's ability to distinguish between severity levels) and difficulty (b; the severity level at which the item has a high probability of being endorsed), considered relevant when the values exceed significant thresholds (discrimination > 1 and difficulty within a specific range on the severity continuum);
- its centrality within the network of criteria, as measured by four indices (strength, proximity, interdependence, and expected influence) from network analysis (NA).
- Conditions
- Addictive Behaviors, Internet Addiction Disorder, Gambling, Technology Addiction, Food Addiction, Compulsive Sexual Behavior
- Being tested
- Questionnaires, Telephone interview
- Keywords
- Behavioral addictions, Item Response Theory, Symptoms Network Analysis, Diagnostic criteria, Screen Use, Internet Addiction, Pathological gambling, Gaming disorder, Food Addiction, Compulsive Sexual Behaviors
- Medical subject headings
- Behavior, Addictive, Internet Addiction Disorder, Gambling, Technology Addiction, Food Addiction, Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
QuestionnairesOther
- the 9 DSM-5 criteria for gambling and video gaming, plus an item assessing craving (for a total of 10 criteria for these two behaviors),
- the 11 DSM-5 criteria for substance use disorder adapted to addictive behaviors (screen use, eating, and sex).
The total time required to complete the online questionnaires is estimated to be between 5 and 15 minutes, depending on the number of behaviors reported by the participant.
Telephone interviewOther
- the 9 DSM-5 criteria for gambling and video gaming, plus an item assessing craving (for a total of 10 criteria for these two behaviors),
- 11 DSM-5 criteria for substance use disorder adapted to addictive behaviors (screen use, eating, and sex).
The telephone interview will include additional questions from the Addiction Severity Index, covering all of its assessment domains except for the sections on legal issues and family history. This information will be supplemented by an assessment of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview's substance use disorder (SUD) assessment for substances used regularly. All of this data aims to establish a severity profile for each substance or addictive behavior reported as problematic by the participant, taking into account the associated medical, occupational, social, psychological, and consumption dimensions.
The total duration of the telephone questionnaire administration is estimated to be between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on t
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Telephone Interview | If a participant reports regular use AND has experienced a problem with at least one of the behaviors of interest, he/she will be offered the opportunity to participate in a telephone interview. After obtaining the participant's consent to participate in the research, the participant will be asked to provide their phone number so they can be contacted for a telephone assessment interview. Receives: Other: Telephone interview | |
| Online Questionnaire | If a participant reports regular engagement in at least one of the behaviors of interest without reporting any perceived problems, he/she will be offered the opportunity to participate in an online questionnaire. After obtaining the participant's consent to participate in the research, the participant will be invited to complete an online questionnaire. Receives: Other: Questionnaires |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Discrimination parameter (a) of items, estimated with a 2PL IRT model
For each behavioral addiction studied (online gambling, video gaming, screen use, eating, sex/pornography use), the discrimination parameter (a) of all items will be estimated using a two-parameter (2PL) item response theory model.
Measured: Baseline
Difficulty parameter (b) of items, estimated with a 2PL IRT model
For each behavioral addiction studied (online gambling, video gaming, screen use, eating, sex/pornography use), the difficulty parameter (b) of all items will be estimated using a two-parameter (2PL) item response theory model.
Measured: Baseline
Secondary outcomes (3)
Discrimination parameter (a) of the craving criterion across behaviors
The discrimination parameter (a) of the craving criterion will be compared across behaviors (gambling, video games, screen use, eating, sex/pornography) and their subtypes.
Measured: Baseline
Difficulty parameter (b) of the craving criterion across behaviors
The difficulty parameter (b) of the craving criterion will be compared across behaviors (gambling, video games, screen use, eating, sex/pornography) and their subtypes.
Measured: Baseline
Network centrality of the craving criterion across behaviors
Centrality indices (strength, closeness, betweenness, expected influence) of the craving criterion will be compared across behaviors (gambling, video games, screen use, eating, sex/pornography) and their subtypes.
Measured: Baseline
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted2 Oct 2026
- Study start2 Sep 2026
- Primary completionSep 2029 (estimated)
- Study completionSep 2029 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Addictive BehaviorsStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Other
- Time perspective
- Cross-sectional
- Enrolment
- 150 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Bordeaux
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Marc AURIACOMBE, Ph-D, Principal investigator, Université de Bordeaux Pôle Addictologie - CH Charles Perrens
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07854912
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 26.01091.000432
- Other IDs
- 2026-A00815-46
- Acronym
- CRIBA
- Status last verified
- Oct 2026
- First submitted
- 21 Sep 2026
- Last updated
- 5 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: Deidentified individual participant data will be available upon reasonable request to the principal investigator. Access will be granted to researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal for achieving the aims of the approved proposal. A data access agreement may be required before the data are released.