Examining the impacts of stress and loneliness on problem gambling and digital gaming

View Open Access Article View Snapshot Back to Search Results

snapshot summaries

Author(s): Vuorinen, Ilkka ; Savolainen, Iina ; Sirola, Anu ; Oksanen, Atte ; Savolainen, Iina ; Sirola, Anu ; Oksanen, Atte

Journal: International Journal of Social Psychiatry

Year Published: 2024

Date Added: September 27, 2024

Gambling and playing digital games can lead to problems for some people. Understanding what factors might make people more vulnerable to these problems is important for developing prevention and intervention efforts. The purpose of this study was to look at whether stress and loneliness—both separately and combined—increase problems with gambling and digital gaming over time. The researchers surveyed 1,530 Finnish adults between Spring 2021 and Autumn 2023. A total of 753 participants completed all six survey waves. The results showed that stress and loneliness increased problems with digital gaming over time, while only stress increased problems with gambling over time. The combination of stress and loneliness had a weaker effect than each separately on both types of problems.

Citation: Vuorinen, I., Savolainen, I., Sirola, A., & Oksanen, A. (2024). The impacts of stress and loneliness on gambling and gaming problems: A nationwide longitudinal study. The International Journal of Social Psychiatry. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00207640241264661

Article DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00207640241264661

Keywords: addiction ; loneliness ; problem gambling ; stress

Conceptual Framework Factors: Psychological - Comorbid Disorders ; Psychological Factors ; Psychological - Subjective Well-Being

Study Design: Observational: Cohort

Geographic Coverage: Finland

Study Population: Adults between the ages of 18–75, living in Finland (n = 1,530 for the first survey wave). Only participants who completed all six survey waves were included in the analysis (n = 753)

Sampling Procedure: The researchers used data from the longitudinal six-wave Gambling in the Digital Age survey, Participants were recruited through Norstat Finland, a data provider company. Data were collected in 6-month intervals between spring 2021 and autumn 2023.

Study Funding:

The study was funded by the Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies (Gambling in the Digital Age Project, 2021–2024, principal investigator Atte Oksanen). Ilkka Vuorinen was supported by a grant from the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation in Finland.