Problematic Gaming and Internet Use but Not Gambling May Be Overrepresented in Sexual Minorities – A Pilot Population Web Survey Study

Abstract

Background: Substance-related addictive disorders are known to be overrepresented in non-heterosexual individuals, but it is largely unknown whether this is also the case for behavioral addictions such as problem gaming and gambling. This study aimed, in a pilot web survey design, to assess whether problematic gambling, gaming and internet use may be more common in individuals with a non-heterosexual orientation.Methods: An online survey was distributed through media and social media, and answered by 605 individuals (51% women and 11% non-heterosexual). Problem gambling, problem gaming and problematic internet use were measured through structured screening instruments (the CLiP, the GAS and the PRIUSS, respectively).Results: Problem gaming and problematic internet use were significantly more prevalent in non-heterosexual subjects. Instead, problem gambling did not differ between heterosexual and non-heterosexual respondents. Psychological distress and social media use for more than 3 h daily were significantly more common in non-heterosexual respondents. In the overall sample, gaming and gambling were associated statistically.Conclusion: Based on the present pilot online survey, problematic gaming and internet use, but not problem gambling, may be more common in non-heterosexual populations. This area merits more and larger studies, and potentially preventive efforts aimed for non-heterosexual individuals in the population. Possible explanations and study limitations are discussed in the paper.

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

“…With respect to sexual orientation, described in one previous report as a potential risk factor [39], no significant association with problem gambling was seen. This finding is consistent with a smaller pilot study from the present setting, which failed to demonstrate an increase in problem gambling in sexual minorities [40].…”

“…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].…”

“…The instruments used in the study were translated into Swedish for the first time in previous studies and used with the same wording here [40]. Although a back translation through an independent translator was carried out with satisfactory results, it cannot be excluded that minor alterations in how questions are perceived by respondents may change the percentage of people endorsing a particular item, compared to the original English version.…”

“…For the PRIUSS, although less established, a score of six or more was chosen as the cutoff for providing a recommendation at the end of the survey, in order to set the level conservatively at the threshold level with the highest specificity as reported in the original publication [46]. For all screening tools included, the previously translated versions used in a pilot study on online behaviour preceding the present study [40] were used. Back translation into English was carried out by an independent person with native level of Swedish and English and judged to yield satisfactory results.…”

“…Regarding both employment and age, findings have been diverse, as both being employed [2, 38] and unemployed [36] have been found to be associated with problem gambling in different studies, and problem gambling has been shown to be linked to older age in general [38], younger age in men, and older age in women [36]. Homosexual and bisexual orientation has also been suggested to be associated with problem gambling [39], although a more recent study failed to demonstrate this association [40].…”