Exploring the public's perception of gambling addiction on Twitter during the COVID-19 pandemic: Topic modelling and sentiment analysis

"Is a game really a reason for people to die?" Sentiment and thematic analysis of Twitter-based discourse on Indonesia soccer stampede

This study examined discourses related to an Indonesian soccer stadium stampede on 1st October 2022 using comments posted on Twitter. We conducted a lexicon-based sentiment analysis to identify the sentiments and emotions expressed in tweets and performed structural topic modeling to identify latent themes in the discourse. The majority of tweets (87.8%) expressed negative sentiments, while 8.2% and 4.0% of tweets expressed positive and neutral sentiments, respectively. The most common emotion expressed was fear (29.3%), followed by sadness and anger. Of the 19 themes identified, "Deaths and mortality" was the most prominent (15.1%), followed by "family impact". The negative stampede discourse was related to public concerns such as "vigil" and "calls for bans and suspension," while positive discourse focused more on the impact of the stampede. Public health institutions can leverage the volume and rapidity of social media to improve disaster prevention strategies.

Large-Scale Web Scraping for Problem Gambling Research: A Case Study of COVID-19 Lockdown Effects in Germany

The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to prevent its spread have had a negative impact on substance use behaviour. It is likely that social distancing and lockdown measures have also altered gambling behaviour, for instance shifting from land-based to online gambling. We used large-scale web scraping to analyse posting behaviour on a major German online gambling forum, gathering a database of more than 200k posts. We examined the usage of different subforums, i.e. terrestrial, online gambling and problem gambling sections, and changes in posting behaviour related to the casino closures that were part of the nationwide restrictions in Germany in 2020. There was a marked increase in newly registered users during the first lockdown compared to the preceding weeks, an increase in the number of posts in the online gambling subforum and concurrent decrease in the terrestrial gambling subforum. Further, the number of short-latency replies was higher during the first lockdown compared to the preceding weeks. Many users who posted in both the online and terrestrial forum contributed at least once to the problem gambling subforum, implying that the topic of problem gambling is widely discussed. Our findings may indicate a shift from terrestrial to online gambling during lockdown, and mirror the general increase in screen time and usage of online platforms after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The analyses help to identify lockdown-related effects on gambling behaviour. These potentially detrimental effects pose a special threat for individuals at risk and may require monitoring and special public health measures.

Telehealth treatment for gambling disorder in the COVID-19 era: seismic shifts and silver linings

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Gambling disorder is a serious mental health condition and the only behavioral addiction currently recognized by the American Psychiatric Association. Though prevalence and treatment seeking for gambling disorder have been stable for decades, the global COVID-19 pandemic has created a seismic shift in societal factors that influence gambling disorder and treatment availability. At the same time, the increasing availability of telehealth therapy for gambling disorder offers a new way to provide specialized treatment nationwide.

RECENT FINDINGS

The present review discusses the seismic shifts in underlying risk factors, gambling availability, and reduced access to treatment. It also covers the emergence of telehealth treatment for gambling disorder, including its benefits and pitfalls.

SUMMARY

In separate commentaries, several experts hypothesized that the pandemic was likely to increase mental health risk factors in society such as social isolation, job loss, and stress. In addition, access to online gambling also increased, while countries that locked down more strictly (like Singapore) saw a reduction in terrestrial gambling, countries that did not lock down strictly (like Sweden) did not see changes in gambling behavior. Telehealth was almost universally recommended as a good option for treatment in the studies we reviewed, though proper training and staffing are needed for telehealth to prove effective. Gambling disorder was only included in nationwide addiction telehealth programs in two countries.

Individual, family, and social correlates of flourishing outcomes among youth: Findings from the 2016-2017 National Survey of Children's Health

BACKGROUND

Flourishing is considered an optimal state of well-being and is associated with positive psychological outcomes. Although, individual, family, and social factors may either facilitate or impede flourishing, their unique influence on flourishing outcomes is not well-understood among youth.

OBJECTIVE

Using data from the 2016-2017 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), this study investigated cross-sectional associations among adverse family experiences (AFE), community safety, family resilience, parental aggravation, and flourishing among youth.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Data from the 2016-2017 NSCH (N = 51,156) were analyzed. Participants included males (n = 26,124) and females (n = 25,032) whose ages ranged from 6 to 17 years old (M = 12.14, SD = 3.45).

METHODS

After controlling for relevant demographics, adjusted odds ratios (AORs) using a single-block logistic regression determined the relative likelihood of flourishing.

RESULTS

Youth who experienced zero to one AFE (AOR = 2.10; 95% CI [1.95, 2.26]) and two to three AFEs (1.32 [1.20, 1.45]) were more likely to flourish than youth with four or more AFEs. Youth whose parents endorsed low parental aggravation (6.80 [6.41, 7.22]) and moderate parental aggravation (3.70 [3.51, 3.89]) were more likely to be flourishing than youth whose parents endorsed high parental aggravation.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that high parental aggravation is related to poorer flourishing outcomes, after considering community safety, family adversity, family resilience, and demographic characteristics. Providers should consider interventions to support the emotional regulation of parental systems as a means of maximizing developmental outcomes among youth.