METHODOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE OF MODERN RESEARCH ON BEHAVIORAL ADDICTIONS: ANALYSIS OF THE ICBA 2025 CONFERENCE MATERIALS

Abstract

Contemporary research on behavioral addictions is characterized by the active development of methodological approaches and a transition from the phenomenological description of individual forms of addictive behavior to the investigation of their psychological mechanisms and the development of predictive models. The relevance of the methodological analysis of the ICBA 2025 materials is determined by the need to systematize the approaches used by the international scientific community to investigate the etiology, maintenance mechanisms, and treatment of non-substance addictions. The aim of this article is to conduct a methodological analysis of the studies presented at the International Conference on Behavioral Addictions (ICBA 2025) and devoted to digital behavior, media consumption, and behavioral addictions. The analysis showed that contemporary research practice is characterized by the predominance of quantitative methods, the use of standardized psychodiagnostic instruments, and the predominant application of correlational research designs. The most common research strategies include correlational studies, comparative group analyses, and cross-sectional studies. Adolescents and young adults constitute the main study populations, reflecting the increased attention given to digital behavior in these age groups. Survey methods and standardized psychodiagnostic scales are predominantly used as the main data collection methods. The analysis of the conference materials also indicates a gradual expansion of the methodological toolkit and an increasing use of contemporary digital methods of data analysis. At the same time, there remains a need for further improvement in the methodology of behavioral addiction research. Promising directions include the broader application of mixed methods, the implementation of longitudinal studies, and the expansion of the age range of research samples. The findings make it possible to systematize the main methodological trends in contemporary behavioral addiction research and identify promising directions for the further development of this field.