About us
Aims of the Society
The aims of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Addictions (ISSBA) are to study behavioral addictions and to help developing the interface of behavioral addiction science on the international stage.
The aim of the society is to assemble and stand for specialists working in the field of health promotion, prevention and treatment programs for patients with behavioral addictions, rehabilitations, harm reduction measures, psychiatrists, addiction scientists, psychologists, social workers, addiction consultants, specialized nurses, volunteers and other professionals under an organizational order.
The aim of the society is to offer effective educational and training programs for professionals in the field of behavioral addictions in order to improve their skills and knowledge about prevention, intervention, therapy, and nursing about behavioral addiction.
The aim of the society is to encourage scientific research projects, offer professional support in design and implementation of upcoming research projects. With those results the society seeks to understand better the problems of non-substance addictions and to decrease their prevalence in the population.
The society supports to publish and present the results of addiction science research projects in order to enrich the academic discourse about the behavioral addictions and also all in the public domain.
The society is dedicated in the educational programs of the population, such as supporting and organizing educational, prevention, and treatment programs in school environments.
The highlighted aim of the society is to work with and help other non-governmental organizations in order to recognize the symptoms of the behavioral addictions and hold on the expansion of the behavioral addictions in the population. The aim of society is to co-operate with non-governmental organizations, professional organizations, academic departments, and voluntary groups in order to find the most effective solutions on the problem of behavioral addictions.
Board members
Zsolt Demetrovics (President)
Eötvös Loránd University
(Hungary)
Sophia Achab
University Hospital of Geneva
(Switzerland)
Joël Billieux
University of Lausanne
(Lausanne, Switzerland)
Henrietta Bowden-Jones
national Problem Gambling Clinic
(United Kingdom)
Matthias Brand
University of Duisburg-Essen
(Germany)
Susumu Higuchi
National Hospital Organization Kurihama Medical and Addiction Center
(Japan)
Daniel King
University of Adelaide
(Australia)
Orsolya Király
Eötvös Loránd University
(Hungary)
Astrid Müller
Hannover Medical School
(Germany)
Marc N. Potenza
Yale University
(USA)
Anise Wu
University of Macau
(China)
Supervisory Committee
Hae Kook Lee (Chair)
The Catholic University of Korea Uijeongbu St. Mary’s Hospital
(Republic of Korea)
Beáta Bőthe
Université de Montréal
(Canada)
Susana Jiménez-Murcia
University Hospital of Bellvitge
(Spain)
The impact factor of the Journal of Behavioral Addictions (JBA) is 7,8 (2022).
More information on JBA
Lifetime Achievement Award for the Study of Behavioral Addictions
The Lifetime Achievement Award is established to honor a single individual for their lifetime contribution to the study of behavioral addictions. The Award can be given to individuals who have had outstanding contributions to and a lasting impact on the study of behavioral addictions over the course of their careers (minimum 25 years), demonstrating a lifetime commitment to the field. The award cannot be granted posthumously.
Awarded in 2023: Mark D. Griffiths
Dr. Mark Griffiths is a Chartered Psychologist and Distinguished Professor of Behavioural Addiction at the Nottingham Trent University, and Director of the International Gaming Research Unit. He has spent 37 in the field and is internationally known for his work into gambling, gaming, and behavioral addictions. He has published over 1500 peer-reviewed research papers, six books, over 200 book chapters, and over 1500 other articles. He has won 25 national and international awards for his work including the John Rosecrance Prize (1994), Joseph Lister Prize (2004), US National Council on Problem Gambling Lifetime Research Award (2013), ISSBA Lifetime Achievement Award for the Study of Behavioral Addictions (2023). He also does a lot of freelance journalism and has appeared on over 3500 radio and television programs, and written over 400 articles for national and international newspapers and magazines.
Great Achievement Award for the Study of Behavioral Addictions
The Great Achievement Award is established to honor a single individual for their continuous outstanding contributions to the study of behavioral addictions. The Award can be given to individuals whose academic results had a transformative and innovative impact on the development of the field of behavioral addictions.
Awarded in 2023: Matthias Brand
Dr. Matthias Brand is full professor of General Psychology: Cognition at University Duisburg-Essen, Germany. He is also director of the Center for Behavioral Addiction Research (CeBAR), University Duisburg-Essen, Germany, and director of the Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Essen, Germany. His research interests concentrate on neurobiological and psychological mechanisms underlying behavioral addictions. He is speaker of the DFG-funded Research Unit 2974 “Affective and cognitive mechanisms of specific Internet-use disorders (ACSID)”. He is board member of the International Society for the Studies of Behavioral Addictions and associate editor of the Journal of Behavioral Addictions.
Early Career Researcher Award for the Study of Behavioral Addictions
The Early Career Researcher Award is established to honor a single individual for their significant contribution to the study of behavioral addictions. The Award can be given to individuals who have had significant contributions to and impact on the academic study of behavioral addictions. The Early Career Researcher Award may only be conferred upon nominees within 5 years of receiving a doctoral degree (Ph.D. or equivalent) at the time of the closing date for nominations (excluding those who had already had an established research career prior to starting their PhD). Career disruptions are to be considered (A career disruption involves a prolonged interruption to the ability to work as a result of illness, maternity/paternity leave, or other significant carer’s duties.).
Awarded in 2023:
Beátha Bőthe
Dr. Bőthe works at the Department of Psychology at the University of Montréal (Canada) as an assistant professor and is the director of the Sexuality, Technology, and Addictions Research Lab. She focuses on addictions, compulsive sexual behaviors, problematic and non-problematic pornography use, and online behaviors. She has published more than 100 international research articles in leading scientific journals and 15 book chapters. She is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Behavioral Addictions and a member of the editorial boards of other top-tier journals (e.g., Journal of Sex Research, Archives of Sexual Behavior).
Gemma Mestre-Bach is a Graduate in Psychology from the University of Barcelona with a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology and in Sexual and Couple Therapy from the European Foundation, a Master's degree in Third Generation Therapies from the Valencian International University, and a Master's degree in Criminological and Victimological Intervention from the Miguel Hernández University, as well as a Ph.D. in Medicine and Translational Research from the University of Barcelona. She is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at the International University of La Rioja (Spain). She has more than 100 articles about behavioral addictions published in international journals.
Nominator’s summary: Dr. Mestre-Bach has many outstanding qualities. She is highly productive. She continuously expands her knowledge base regarding research methods (becoming involved in neuroimaging) and disorders (a broad range of behavioral addictions). Her interpersonal and leadership skills facilitate mentoring of early career investigators. I strongly anticipate that she will emerge as a future leader in the study of behavioral addictions.
Organisation information
International Society for the Study of Behavioral Addictions
Registration number: 01-02-0016189
TAX number: 18756304-2-42
EU TAX number: HU18756304
Bank account : 11763031-31441881 (OTP Bank)
IBAN : HU02117630313144188100000000
SWIFT (BIC) : OTPVHUHB
Organisation information
International Society for the Study of Behavioral Addictions
Registration number: 01-02-0016189
TAX number: 18756304-2-42
EU TAX number: HU18756304
Bank account : 11763031-31441881 (OTP Bank)
IBAN : HU02117630313144188100000000
SWIFT (BIC) : OTPVHUHB
