The objective of this study was to examine if belonging to online communities and social media identity bubbles predict youth problem gambling. An online survey was administered to 15–25-year-old participants in the United States (N = 1212), South Korea (N = 1192), Spain (N = 1212), and Finland (N = 1200). The survey measured two dimensions of online behavior: perceived sense of belonging to an online community and involvement in social media identity bubbles. Belonging to an online community was examined with a single item and involvement in social media identity bubbles was measured with the six-item Identity Bubble Reinforcement Scale. The South Oaks Gambling Screen was used to assess problem gambling. Statistical analyses utilized linear regression modeling. According to the analyses, strong sense of belonging to an online community was associated with higher problem gambling, but the association was observed mainly among those young individuals who were also involved in social media identity bubbles. For those youths who did not indicate identity bubble involvement, online relationships appeared to function as those offline. Some differences across the four countries were observed but overall, the results indicate that social media identity bubbles could partly explain the harmful influence that some online relations have on youth behavior.
Aims This study explores the prevalence of being a past-year affected other (AO) of a problem gambler by gender. The aims were to study the amount and type of gambling-related harms (GRHs) for subgroups of AOs and to distinguish GRH profiles for AO subgroups. Methods A total of 7186 adults aged 18 years and over participated in the Gambling Harms Survey evaluating year 2016. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression. Results Of all respondents, 12.9% were defined as past-year AOs (women 13.7%; men 12.1%). The proportion of affected non-family members (ANFs) was 8.4%, and 5.6% were affected family members (AFMs). AFMs were usually women, and ANFs were usually men. Emotional, relationship, and financial harms were the most common types of harm. The odds of experiencing financial harm were highest for the 18- to 34-year-olds (OR 1.82) and for those whose partner/ex-partner had a gambling problem (OR 3.91). Having a parent/step-parent (OR 1.93) and child/stepchild (OR 3.64) increased the odds of experiencing emotional harm, whereas male gender (OR 0.50) and being an ANF (OR 0.58) decreased emotional harm. Relationship harm was evident for partners/ex-partners (OR 1.97–5.07). Conclusions GRH profiles for AO subgroups varied, which emphasizes the need for effective harm minimization strategies for those in need.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.