A Study of the Correlation Between the Severity of Substance Use Disorder and the Intensity of Dependence on Generative Artificial Intelligence (ADDICT-IA)

September 9, 2026 updated by: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice

This bicentric, cross-sectional observational study conducted in France evaluates the relationship between substance use disorder (SUD) severity and generative artificial intelligence dependency among outpatients treated in specialized addiction care centers (CSAPA).

While conversational generative artificial intelligence tools have seen rapid widespread adoption, potential problematic usage and cognitive dependency remain poorly documented in clinical addictology. Outpatients followed for substance use disorders present shared cognitive, reward-processing, and behavioral vulnerabilities that may heighten their susceptibility to emerging digital dependencies.

Eligible adult patients complete a single 15-minute evaluation comprising the Generative Artificial Intelligence Dependency Scale (GAIDS; 11 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 to 5, total score range: 11 to 55) and the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria checklist for their primary substance of abuse, alongside sociodemographic characteristics. Clinical data, including documented psychiatric comorbidities, are extracted in parallel from electronic health records. Following questionnaire completion, participants receive a dedicated debriefing and clinical restitution interview with an investigator.

The primary objective is to evaluate the linear correlation between SUD severity (number of validated DSM-5 criteria, from 0 to 11) and generative artificial intelligence dependency intensity (total raw GAIDS score). Secondary objectives aim to describe generative artificial intelligence dependency levels across specific primary substance classes (alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, cocaine, opioids, etc.), documented comorbid psychiatric disorders (e.g., mood disorders, ADHD, anxiety, personality disorders), and sociodemographic subgroups (age brackets, sex, education, and occupational status).

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adult patient (aged 18 years or older), with or without legal protection measures
  • Actively followed for a substance use disorder (SUD) characterized according to DSM-5 criteria at a participating specialized addiction care center (Nice University Hospital or Sainte-Marie Hospital in Nice, France).
  • Self-reported use of a conversational generative artificial intelligence tool at least once in the past 12 months.
  • Ability to understand, read, and complete a self-administered questionnaire in French.
  • Oral non-opposition obtained from the patient (and from their legal representative if applicable).
  • Affiliated with or beneficiary of a French social security healthcare system.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Minor patient (< 18 years old).
  • Major neurocognitive disorders, intellectual disability, or acute psychiatric decompensation precluding comprehension or questionnaire completion.
  • Explicit opposition to participate expressed by the patient or their legal representative.
  • Withdrawal of non-opposition during the study.
  • Incomplete questionnaire or clinical record preventing computation of primary scores.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: CSAPA outpatients using generative AI
Other: Questionnaire assessment
Administration of a single cross-sectional self-questionnaire assessing generative AI dependency (11-item GAIDS scale), DSM-5 substance use disorder criteria (0 to 11 criteria), and sociodemographic data, followed by a personalized debriefing and clinical restitution interview with an investigator (total duration: approximately 15 minutes).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Correlation coefficient between substance use disorder severity and generative AI dependency
Time Frame: Baseline (single cross-sectional assessment, Day 0)
Linear correlation coefficient (Pearson or Spearman, depending on distribution normality) between the number of validated DSM-5 criteria for the primary substance (score ranging from 0 to 11, higher scores indicate greater severity) and the total raw score on the Generative Artificial Intelligence Dependency Scale (GAIDS; 11 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 to 5; total score range: 11 to 55; higher scores suggest greater dependency).
Baseline (single cross-sectional assessment, Day 0)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Generative artificial intelligence dependency score broken down by primary substance
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 0)
Descriptive statistics (mean +/- standard deviation or median) of the total raw score on the Generative Artificial Intelligence Dependency Scale (GAIDS; 11 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 to 5; total score range: 11 to 55; higher scores suggest greater dependency) broken down by primary substance classes (alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, cocaine hydrochloride, crack cocaine, opioids, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, other substances).
Baseline (Day 0)
Generative artificial intelligence dependency score broken down by psychiatric comorbidities
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 0)
Descriptive statistics (mean +/- standard deviation or median) of the total raw score on the Generative Artificial Intelligence Dependency Scale (GAIDS; 11 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 to 5; total score range: 11 to 55; higher scores suggest greater dependency) broken down by documented DSM-5 psychiatric comorbidities (unipolar depressive disorders, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders, ADHD, ASD, anxiety disorders, OCD, PTSD, borderline personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, eating disorders, other, or absence of disorder).
Baseline (Day 0)
Generative artificial intelligence dependency score broken down by sociodemographic characteristics
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 0)
Descriptive statistics (mean +/- standard deviation or median) of the total raw score on the Generative Artificial Intelligence Dependency Scale (GAIDS; 11 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 to 5; total score range: 11 to 55; higher scores suggest greater dependency) broken down by sociodemographic characteristics: age brackets (18-24, 25-39, 40-59, 60+), sex, occupational status (employed, student/in training, unemployed), and highest educational level (less than high school, high school diploma, short higher education, long higher education).
Baseline (Day 0)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

October 5, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 5, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 5, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 9, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 9, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 15, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 9, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 26-PP-15

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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