Seeking Satisfaction Among Israeli Young Adults: The Roles of Gratification, Compensation, Reward Deficiency Syndrome, and Compulsivity in Relation to Addictive Behaviors

Yaniv Efrati,1 Zsolt Demetrovics,2– 4 Zsolt Horváth,3 Mark D Griffiths,5 Marc N Potenza,6– 9 Kenneth Blum,10,11 Andrea Czakó,3,4 Eszter Kotyuk3 1Bar-Ilan University, Faculty of Education, Ramat Gan, Israel; 2Flinders University Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, Australia; 3Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Lorand University, Budapest, H-1064, Hungary; 4Centre of Excellence in Responsible Gaming, University of Gibraltar, Europa Point Campus, Gibraltar, GX11 1AA, Gibraltar; 5International Gaming Research Unit, Psychology Department, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK; 6Departments of Psychiatry, Neuroscience and Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; 7Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, Wethersfield, CT, USA; 8Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, CT, USA; 9Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; 10Center for Sports, Exercise & Mental Health, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA, USA; 11Department of Molecular Biology, Adelson School of Medicine, Ariel University, Ariel, IsraelCorrespondence: Yaniv Efrati, Bar-Ilan University, Faculty of Education, Ramat Gan, Israel, Tel +972-545-800094, Email yaniv.efrati@biu.ac.ilBackground and Aims: Behavioral addictions, such as problematic use of social media, gaming disorder, gambling disorder, and compulsive buying-shopping disorder, are increasingly common among young adults worldwide. The aim of the present study was to identify distinctive factors of these behavioral addictions, focusing on gratification and compensation, reward deficiency syndrome, and compulsivity among young adults.Methods: The sample comprised 1459 Jewish Israeli young adults from the general community (36% male, 64% female; aged 19– 27 years). Participants were surveyed regarding general and compulsive/problematic engagement in shopping, online gaming, gambling, and social media use. The study also assessed gratification and compensation specific to each behavior, as well as reward deficiency syndrome and compulsivity.Results: Network analysis of behavioral addiction measures identified three key factors related to buying-shopping, online gaming, and combined gambling and use of social media, with problematic engagement implicated. Gambling disorder acted as an important bridge, connecting different sub-networks and facilitating communication and information flow between them. Subsequently, using structural equation modeling, a higher need for gratification and compensation and more severe reward deficiencies were associated with greater severity across all four addictive behaviors. In contrast, compulsivity was inversely associated with the factor combining gambling and use of social media.Conclusion: The present study highlights the complex relationship between gratification, reward deficiency, and compulsivity in young adults’ addictive behaviors. It suggests a need for interventions that specifically address gratification and compensation, raising the possibility that a targeted approach could potentially mitigate the severity of multiple addictive behaviors.Keywords: behavioral addictions, network analysis, gratification, compensation, young adults