Thinking beyond cut-off scores in the assessment of potentially addictive behaviors: A brief illustration in the context of binge-watching

While applying a diagnostic approach (i.e., comparing clinical cases with healthy controls) is part of our methodological habits as researchers and clinicians, this approach has been particularly criticized in the behavioral addictions research field, in which a lot of studies are conducted on emerging conditions. Here we exemplify the pitfalls of using a cut-off-based approach in the context of binge-watching (i.e., watching multiple episodes of series back-to-back) by demonstrating that no reliable cut-off scores could be determined with a widely used assessment instrument measuring binge-watching.

Automated summary

Applying a cut-off-based approach in the context of binge-watching has its pitfalls, as demonstrated by the lack of reliable cut-off scores in a widely used assessment instrument. This challenges the traditional diagnostic approach in the research field of behavioral addictions.