EXERCISE ADDICTION: A RARE BUT SEVERE PSYCHOLOGICAL DYSFUNCTION

• Authors: Rendi Mária , Szabó Attila , Bárdos György

Title variants

HU

Testedzésfüggőség: egy ritka, de súlyos pszichológiai rendellenesség

• Languages of publication: HU

Abstracts

EN

This current literature review presents a psychological dysfunction in which obsessive and compulsive exercise in exaggerated amounts appears as a symptom of life stress or other psychological problems. This rare but severe dysfunction is known as exercise addiction. The reasons for such deviant exercise practices are discussed from the behaviouristic perspective of positive and negative reinforcement, by drawing the line between healthy and morbid exercising. In the course of the review, a physiological and a psychological model are presented. The common symptoms of behavioural addictions, that also form the basis of diagnosis of exercise addiction, are illustrated with examples. It is emphasized that symptom-based identification of exercise addiction is incomplete as it represents only the surface screening. Positive diagnosis of the psychological routes behind the problem should be performed by qualified professionals.

Keywords

EN

addiction; compulsion; dependence; obsession; sport; training

Discipline

• PSYCHOLOGY: PSYCHOLOGY

• Publisher: Hungarian Association for Psychology
• Journal: Magyar Pszichologiai Szemle (Hungarian Psychological Review)
• Year: 2010
• Volume: 65
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 529-544
• Document type: REVIEW

Contributors

author

Rendi Mária

author

Szabó Attila

author

Bárdos György