Phd in DYNAMIC AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Thesis title: Quando l’amore diventa bisogno: Uno studio multi-metodo verso la comprensione della Dipendenza Affettiva

Love Addiction (LA), is a construct introduced in the scientific literature in the 1970s and has since been increasingly explored in relation to behavioral addictions. The inclusion of behavioral addictions in the DSM-5 (APA, 2013) has encouraged the proposal of new potentially pathological behaviors, including LA. However, as highlighted by Billieux et al. (2015), this carries the risk of reducing subjective experience to rigid frameworks, over-pathologizing common aspects of everyday life. This thesis aims to explore the psychopathological specificity of LA, moving beyond the classical theory of behavioral addictions and integrating the attachment paradigm. To this end, three studies were conducted using a multimodal methodology. The first study provided a systematic and meta-analytic review of the literature on the association between LA and attachment insecurity, identifying a positive association with preoccupied, fearful, and disorganized attachment styles, and a negative correlation with dismissive attachment style. The second study adopted a multidimensional approach to compare emotional, personality, and relational aspects across three groups: individuals clinically identified as love addict, individuals at risk, and individuals not at risk. The third study explored the subjective experience of LA and consists of three interconnected investigations: (1) a review of qualitative literature, (2) validation of the Love Addiction Interview, and (3) an analysis of metacognitive functioning in patients with LA. Overall, the findings suggest that LA has a distinctive relational structure, setting it apart from traditional behavioral addictions. Theoretical implications point to the need for integrated models combining attachment theory and addiction theory to better understand the nature of this disorder.