Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Behavioral Sciences, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
J Gambl Stud. 2022 Jun;38(2):397-409. doi: 10.1007/s10899-021-10020-7. Epub 2021 Mar 20.
The exponential increase in Internet use has been associated with dangers and harms. Recently, the prevalence of online gambling is increasing in various countries. Online gambling can be a prelude to gambling disorder. No study has been conducted in this field in Iran yet. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of online gambling (without disorder and pathological), and its relationship with demographic variables and psychiatric symptoms. 3252 people participated in this study online. Research tools included gambling disorder screening questionnaire-Persian (GDSQ-P), brief symptom inventory (BSI), Young's addiction questionnaire, and Demographic questionnaire. The prevalence of online gambling was 8.9%. 26.6% of online gamblers experience moderate to severe degrees of pathological gambling. 74.7% of online gamblers were male. Online gamblers have a lower mean age than non-online gamblers (p < 0.001). Online gamblers were equally from all economic classes. The most common methods of gambling were CRASH game and sports betting. Online gamblers had no significant difference in the rate of face-to-face (physical) gambling history, compared to non-online gamblers (6.9% vs 5.6%), (p > 0.05). In BSI-assessed psychiatric symptoms, online gamblers showed higher scores on anxiety and obsession, and lower scores on paranoid ideation, compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Also, Internet addiction and daily use of the Internet as entertainment were significantly higher in online gamblers than non-online gamblers (p < 0.05). Also, a positive and significant correlation was found between the severity of gambling and the severity of Internet addiction, severity of depression, severity of anxiety, and severity of obsession in online gamblers (p < 0.05). Overall, online gambling is common in Iran and is associated with psychiatric problems. Health professionals and the government should pay special attention to online gambling and its related problems.
互联网使用的指数级增长与危险和危害有关。最近，各国在线赌博的流行率正在上升。在线赌博可能是赌博障碍的前奏。伊朗尚未在该领域开展研究。本研究旨在调查在线赌博（无障碍和病态）的流行率及其与人口统计学变量和精神症状的关系。3252 人在线参与了这项研究。研究工具包括赌博障碍筛查问卷-波斯语（GDSQ-P）、简明症状量表（BSI）、杨的成瘾问卷和人口统计学问卷。在线赌博的流行率为 8.9%。26.6%的在线赌徒经历中度至重度病态赌博。74.7%的在线赌徒是男性。在线赌徒的平均年龄低于非在线赌徒（p<0.001）。在线赌徒来自所有经济阶层。最常见的赌博方式是 CRASH 游戏和博彩投注。与非在线赌徒相比，在线赌徒面对面（身体）赌博史的发生率没有显著差异（6.9%比 5.6%）（p>0.05）。在 BSI 评估的精神症状中，与对照组相比，在线赌徒在焦虑和痴迷方面的得分较高，而在偏执观念方面的得分较低（p<0.05）。此外，与非在线赌徒相比，在线赌徒的网络成瘾和每天将互联网作为娱乐的使用频率显著更高（p<0.05）。此外，在线赌徒的赌博严重程度与网络成瘾严重程度、抑郁严重程度、焦虑严重程度和痴迷严重程度呈正相关（p<0.05）。总的来说，在线赌博在伊朗很普遍，与精神问题有关。卫生专业人员和政府应特别关注在线赌博及其相关问题。
