A 5-year longitudinal examination of the co-occurring patterns of gambling and other addictive behaviors

Hyoun S Kim; Nassim Tabri; David C Hodgins

doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107894

A 5-year longitudinal examination of the co-occurring patterns of gambling and other addictive behaviors

Addict Behav. 2024 Feb:149:107894. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107894. Epub 2023 Oct 28.

Authors

Hyoun S Kim¹, Nassim Tabri², David C Hodgins³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada; University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research at The Royal, 1145 Carling Ave, Ottawa, ON K1Z 7K4, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
² Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada; Mental Health and Well-being Research and Training Hub, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada. Electronic address: nassimtabri@cunet.carleton.ca.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada. Electronic address: dhodgins@ucalgary.ca.

PMID: 37925845
DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107894

Abstract

Objective: We examined the co-occurring patterns of problem gambling and substance/behavioral addiction severity over a five-year period and the predictors of the different co-occurring patterns of problem gambling and addiction severity.

Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of the Quinte Longitudinal Study (QLS) data. The QLS is a 5-year prospective longitudinal study of gambling and problem gambling in the Quinte Region in Southern Ontario. The QLS consists of a total of 4,121 participants, including a sample of participants at risk of developing problem gambling. Severity of problem gambling, substance use, and behavioral addictions were used to examine their co-occurring patterns over time. Predictors of the co-occurring patterns included the presence of mental health disorders, personality, stress, happiness, lifesatisfaction, social support, family history, and demographics.

Results: Six co-occurring patterns of problem gambling and addiction severity were identified. The largest co-occurring pattern was characterized by concurrent decrease in gambling and other addictive behaviors. Several co-occurring patterns were characterized by moderate-to-severe problem gambling and other addiction severity that remained stable over time. No co-occurring pattern represented a decrease in gambling followed by increase in other addictive behaviors (e.g., addiction substitution). The presence of mental health disorders, stress, and lifesatisfaction significantly predicted the different co-occurring patterns.

Conclusions: Taken together, the results suggest that in a non-clinical sample, gambling and other co-occurring addictive behaviors are likely to simultaneously decrease over time. Comorbidity of mental health disorders significantly influences co-occurring patterns of gambling and other addictive behaviors.

Keywords: Addiction substitution; Co-occurring pattern of addictive behavior; Dual-process model; Latent class growth analyses; Quinte Longitudinal Study.

MeSH terms

Behavior, Addictive* / epidemiology
Behavior, Addictive* / psychology
Comorbidity
Gambling* / epidemiology
Gambling* / psychology
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Prospective Studies
Substance-Related Disorders* / epidemiology
Substance-Related Disorders* / psychology