Gambling and Alcohol Problems during the College Years: Personality, Physical and Emotional Health and Gambling Beliefs

The Influence of Gambling on Mood State and Alcohol Cravings

Several decades of research have experimentally investigated the influence of alcohol on gambling. However, there has been only minimal experimental exploration of how gambling influences alcohol use. The aim of the current project was to evaluate how gambling influenced mood state and alcohol cravings through randomized experimental design when analyzed with comparison conditions.College students (N = 76) who reported regular alcohol use, gambling within the past year, and being college basketball fans were randomly assigned to watch a video of an exciting basketball game, watch a nondysphoric basketball game, watch a movie, or engage in slot machine gambling. Participants who watched exciting sports or engaged in gambling to reported more energized mood states and higher urges to drink compared to those who watched nondysphoric sports or a movie. These results suggest that the context of gambling may prime individuals to want to consume alcohol.

Examination of the Factors That Encourage University Students to Sports Betting. A Q-Method Study

This study aimed to examine the factors that motivate university students to sports betting through the Q-method. The study is designed with the Q-methodology. According to this method, qualitative and quantitative research methods are applied in the same study. Interviews were conducted with the participants of the study, question expressions were created and similar studies in the literature were used. With this feature, the current study has both structural and non-structural pattern features. In the study, the snowball sampling method, one of the purposeful sampling methods, was employed as a sampling method. The people recommended by the participants with at least five years of sports betting history were included in the study. A total of 29 university students constituted the study group. In the analysis of the data, basic components analysis was applied and it was concluded that the participants were gathered under two factors, and the value of 0.55 was reached as the significance value. As a result, it can be stated that different factors motivate the participants to bet, such as making money, seeking excitement, having social relations, sports betting as a profession, endeavor, killing time, and betting because of addiction.

The Price of Gambling: Examining Gambling Disorders

Gambling disorders are a serious public health problem. This manuscript will provide a comprehensive overview on this topic. Gambling disorder involves repeated patterns of gambling behaviors, that result in significant distress or impairment in a person's interpersonal relationships, employment, educational/career opportunities, and finances over a period of 12 months. Gambling is defined as an activity that involves risking something of value with the hopes of acquiring something of greater value. Comparable to substance use disorders, individuals with a gambling disorder may be unsuccessful in exercising control over their problematic behavior, engage in the behavior despite negative consequences, and have preoccupations/cravings to gamble. Gambling disorder has higher comorbidity rates of mental disorders including depression, anxiety, substance use, and personality disorders. Gamblers rarely seek treatment. Treatments must be tailored to the individual which may include psychological interventions, cognitive behavioral therapy, gamblers anonymous, and psychopharmacological agents such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, mood stabilizers, and opioid antagonists to treat clinical symptoms.

Mental Health Concerns for College Students: Self-Harm, Suicidal Ideation, and Substance Use Disorders

Mental health disorders in college students are an increasing concern within the United States. Many factors lead to the increase in disorders during this transition period but most are centered on the needed adjustments into adult life and lack of foundation to make these changes. Socioeconomic and racial demographics play a role in the risks of developing and seeking treatment of these issues. Mental health first aid may become the first-line modality to finding and treating mental health disorders in these students.

Alcohol, Tobacco and Cannabis Consumption on Physical Activity and Physical and Social Self-Concept in Secondary School Students: An Explanatory Model Regarding Gender

Nowadays, the adolescent population consumes substances that are harmful to health at an earlier age. Therefore, the present research aimed to (i) develop an explanatory model of tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis consumption on physical self-concept, social self-concept, and physical activity practice and (ii) contrast the model through a multi-group analysis according to the gender of the participants. For this purpose, descriptive, comparative, and cross-sectional research was carried out on adolescent students (M = 13.91; SD = 1.31, years), using the Self-Concept Form 5 Questionnaire, the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ-A), and the State Survey on Drug Use in Secondary Education (ETUDES) for data collection. Findings revealed that the consumption of harmful substances has a positive impact on the social area and the practice of physical exercise, showing a negative relationship between the latter variable and the social and physical area of self-concept.

Qualitative Descriptive Study of Illegal Behaviors among Those with Gambling Disorder in South Korea: Their Efforts for Recovery and Role of Mental Health Care Providers

The prevalence of Gambling Disorder among Koreans suggests that it is relatively higher than other countries. This study explored gambling-related crimes and related mental health care needs of those with Gambling Disorder on a case-by-case basis. Participants (n = 6) included men attending Gamblers Anonymous in South Korea with gambling debts and histories of illegal acts. Thematic analysis of qualitative interviews identified themes: (1) Meaning of Gambling Disorder in life, (2) Initiation of illegal acts stemming from Gambling Disorder, and (3) Life after addiction, efforts for recovery, and mental health care needs. Gambling Disorder destroyed lives and created criminal victims thereby threatening familial and community health.

The Relationship Between Gambling Problems and the Five-Factor Model of Personality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objectives: The aim of the present meta-analysis was to synthesize results from the association between problem gambling (PG) and dimensions of the five factor model of personality and to identify potential moderators (gambling diagnosis: yes/no, comorbidity: yes/no and trait assessment: four or fewer items vs. five items or more) of these associations in meta-regressions. Methods: Searches were conducted in six databases; Medline, Web of Science, PsychInfo, Google Scholar, OpenGrey, and Cochrane Library (conducted on February, 22, 2021). Included studies: (1) reported a relationship between PG and at least one of the personality traits in the five-factor model, (2) contained information of zero-order correlations or sufficient data for such calculations, and (3) were original articles published in any European language. Case-studies, qualitative studies, and reviews were excluded. All articles were independently screened by two authors. Final agreement was reached through discussion or by consulting a third author. Risk of bias of the included studies was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Data were synthesized using a random effects model. Results: In total 28 studies, comprising 20,587 participants, were included. The correlations between PG and the traits were as follows: Neuroticism: 0.273 (95% CI = 0.182, 0.358), conscientiousness -0.296 (95% CI = -0.400, -0.185), agreeableness -0.163 (95% CI = -0.223, -0.101), openness -0.219 (95% CI = -0.308, -0.127), and extroversion -0.083 (95% CI = -0.120, -0.046). For all meta-analyses the between study heterogeneity was significant. Presence of gambling diagnosis was the only moderator that significantly explained between-study variance showing a more negative correlation to extroversion when participants had a gambling diagnosis compared to when this was not the case. Discussion: The results indicated some publication bias. Correcting for this by a trim-and-fill procedure showed however that the findings were consistent. Clinicians and researchers should be aware of the associations between personality traits and PG. Previous studies have for example showed neuroticism to be related to treatment relapse, low scores on conscientiousness to predict treatment drop-out and agreeableness to reduce risk of treatment drop-out. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO (CRD42021237225).