Addiction-Like Mobile Phone Behavior – Validation and Association With Problem Gambling

Abstract

Mobile phone use and its potential addiction has become a point of interest within the research community. The aim of the study was to translate and validate the Test of Mobile Dependence (TMD), and to investigate if there are any associations between mobile phone use and problem gambling. This was a cross-sectional study on a Swedish general population. A questionnaire consisting of a translated version of the TMD, three problem gambling questions (NODS-CLiP) together with two questions concerning previous addiction treatment was published online. Exploratory factor analysis based on polychoric correlations was performed on the TMD. Independent samples T-tests, Mann-Whitney test, logistic regression analyses and ANOVA were performed to examine mean differences between subjects based on TMD test score, gambling and previous addiction treatment. A total of 1,515 people (38.3% men) answered the questionnaire. The TMD showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha: 0.905), and significant correlation with subjective dependence on one's mobile phone. Women scored higher on the TMD and 15-18 year olds had the highest mean test score. The TMD test score was significantly associated with problem gambling, but only when controlling for age and sex. Various separated items related to mobile phone use were associated with problem gambling. The TMD had acceptable internal consistency and correlates with subjective dependence, while future confirmatory factor analysis is recommended. An association between mobile phone use and problem gambling may be possible, but requires further research.

Associations between Problematic Gambling, Gaming, and Internet Use: A Cross-Sectional Population Survey

“…Importantly, the rate of problem gambling, measured with the NODS-CLiP [42] screening for a lifetime history of problem gambling, was higher than in the range of studies demonstrating prevalence measures of problem gambling as measured with more extensive assessment instruments than the brief tool used here [5]. However, this proportion was very close to that seen in the pilot study by Broman and Håkansson [40], which was designed as a self-selected web survey with the same screening tool as the one used here, and slightly higher than in another self-selected survey addressing gambling and related issues (8.1 percent [59]), thus comparable to other studies including primarily individuals with a high degree of online involvement. For comparison, a US general population survey conducted by telephone, and using the same screening instrument as here, identified only 3.3 percent problem gamblers [60], whereas another telephone survey using the same instrument, but in a military cohort hypothesized to represent a potential high-risk group, revealed eight percent problem gambling [61].…”

<p>The General Population’s View on Where to Seek Treatment for Gambling Disorder – a General Population Survey</p>

“…In the present study, six percent of respondents endorsed the criteria of a lifetime history of problem gambling. This is lower than in previous studies from the same setting where the same instrument has been used, and with the same or a similar type of data collection, 35,36 but likely corresponds more closely to the general population prevalence of lifetime problem gambling, reported to be around 3-4 percent in the Swedish general population, although measured with a different instrument. 37 Thus, the present study group may be skewed towards a somewhat higher degree of problem gambling and therefore, potentially, it cannot be excluded that individuals participating in a web survey panel, and who accept to participate in a study about gambling, may have other gambling patterns and other beliefs about gambling and gambling treatment than the rest of the general population.…”

Problem gambling, associations with comorbid health conditions, substance use, and behavioural addictions: Opportunities for pathways to treatment

“…It can be discussed whether an online survey would bias the prevalence of problem gambling found, compared to face-to-face or postal data collection methods. Previous online surveys in the present setting have tended to report relatively high rates of lifetime problem gambling [71,72] compared to the general population [73]. This leads to the suspicion that an online survey in this area could potentially attract people with more intensive gambling habits.…”