The landscape of youth addiction in Israel: Identifying high-risk behaviors

IF 3.7 2区医学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL

Addictive behaviors Pub Date : 2025-06-06 DOI:10.1016/j.addbeh.2025.108396

Yaniv Efrati

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Abstract

While significant progress has been made in understanding the prevalence of use and severity of addictive behaviors, there remains a lack of research adopting a lay epidemiological approach to examine a broad spectrum of addictive behaviors among a large youth population. The objective of this study is to investigate the frequencies of use and severity of various addictive-like behaviors across different demographic variables including gender, religion, country of birth, religiosity, socio-economic status, and age. The sample comprised 6,849 Jewish and Arabic Israeli youth from the general community, consisting of 2,776 males (41 %) and 4,074 females (59 %), 12–18 years of age (M = 15.92, SD = 1.27) who completed the survey anonymously and with parental consent. Results indicated that higher severity in one addictive behavior correlates with increased severity in others. Substance-related behaviors such as alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and cocaine showed stronger correlations within their group than with behavioral addictions like gambling, shopping, gaming, eating disorders, sexual activity and social networking. Similarly, behavioral addictions also display stronger correlations within their own cluster. In addition, significant prevalence of use and severity differences were observed in addictive behaviors based on gender, religion, country of birth, religiosity, socio-economic status, and age. The research underscores the critical role of providing support and resources to youth, which is essential for preventing addictive behaviors and reducing the risks associated with their development.

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以色列青少年成瘾的现状：识别高危行为

虽然在了解成瘾行为的流行程度和严重程度方面取得了重大进展，但仍然缺乏采用非专业流行病学方法来检查大量青少年人群中广泛的成瘾行为的研究。本研究的目的是调查不同人口统计变量（包括性别、宗教、出生国家、宗教信仰、社会经济地位和年龄）中各种成瘾行为的使用频率和严重程度。样本包括6849名来自普通社区的犹太和阿拉伯裔以色列青年，包括2776名男性（41%）和4074名女性（59%），年龄在12-18岁（M = 15.92, SD = 1.27），他们在父母同意的情况下匿名完成调查。结果表明，一种成瘾行为的严重程度越高，其他成瘾行为的严重程度也越高。与物质相关的行为，如酒精、烟草、大麻和可卡因，在他们的群体中显示出比赌博、购物、游戏、饮食失调、性活动和社交网络等行为成瘾更强的相关性。类似地，行为成瘾在它们自己的集群中也显示出更强的相关性。此外，根据性别、宗教、出生国家、宗教信仰、社会经济地位和年龄，成瘾行为的流行程度和严重程度存在显著差异。这项研究强调了为青少年提供支持和资源的关键作用，这对于预防成瘾行为和减少与他们发展相关的风险至关重要。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Addictive behaviors 医学-药物滥用

CiteScore

8.40

自引率

4.50%

发文量

283

审稿时长

46 days

期刊介绍： Addictive Behaviors is an international peer-reviewed journal publishing high quality human research on addictive behaviors and disorders since 1975. The journal accepts submissions of full-length papers and short communications on substance-related addictions such as the abuse of alcohol, drugs and nicotine, and behavioral addictions involving gambling and technology. We primarily publish behavioral and psychosocial research but our articles span the fields of psychology, sociology, psychiatry, epidemiology, social policy, medicine, pharmacology and neuroscience. While theoretical orientations are diverse, the emphasis of the journal is primarily empirical. That is, sound experimental design combined with valid, reliable assessment and evaluation procedures are a requisite for acceptance. However, innovative and empirically oriented case studies that might encourage new lines of inquiry are accepted as well. Studies that clearly contribute to current knowledge of etiology, prevention, social policy or treatment are given priority. Scholarly commentaries on topical issues, systematic reviews, and mini reviews are encouraged. We especially welcome multimedia papers that incorporate video or audio components to better display methodology or findings. Studies can also be submitted to Addictive Behaviors? companion title, the open access journal Addictive Behaviors Reports, which has a particular interest in ''non-traditional'', innovative and empirically-oriented research such as negative/null data papers, replication studies, case reports on novel treatments, and cross-cultural research.