Understanding the links between anxiety, depression, and sports betting: The mediating role of sports betting motivations

IF 3.6 2区医学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL

Addictive behaviors Pub Date : 2025-09-10 DOI:10.1016/j.addbeh.2025.108482

Jonathan David , Hyoun S. Kim , Arif Yüce , Matthew T. Keough

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Abstract

Sports betting has grown in popularity in recent years in the US and Canada, and is now a major form of gambling. In the present research, we examined which motivations for sports betting mediated the association between emotional vulnerabilities (i.e., anxiety and depression) and sports betting and gambling problems. We recruited sports bettors in Ontario, Canada (final N = 915; 77.2 % men) and categorized them as in-play bettors (n = 221), single-event bettors (n = 531), and traditional bettors (n = 163). Participants completed an online battery of questionnaires measuring depression, anxiety, sports betting behaviour, problem gambling, and sports betting motives. Analyses showed that depression and anxiety were highly correlated in this sample of sports bettors. Both depression and anxiety were associated with greater gambling problems, and these associations were mediated primarily through coping motives. On the other hand, mediation analyses showed that depression and anxiety were associated with greater sports betting frequency primarily through enhancement motives. We also found that the associations did not differ significantly for type of sports betting, nor did they differ between men and women. These results demonstrate that depression and anxiety may be more likely to be comorbid in those who partake in sports betting, and that coping motives are related to gambling problems in sports bettors. Thus, our findings support the pathways model of problem gambling, suggesting that interventions for those who primarily engage in sports betting should focus on comorbid depression and anxiety, and should bolster coping styles.

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理解焦虑、抑郁和体育博彩之间的联系：体育博彩动机的中介作用

近年来，体育博彩在美国和加拿大越来越受欢迎，现在是一种主要的赌博形式。在本研究中，我们考察了体育博彩的动机介导了情感脆弱性（即焦虑和抑郁）与体育博彩和赌博问题之间的关联。我们招募了加拿大安大略省的体育投注者（最终N = 915, 77.2%为男性），并将他们分为参与投注者（N = 221）、单一事件投注者（N = 531）和传统投注者（N = 163）。参与者完成了一系列在线调查问卷，测量抑郁、焦虑、体育博彩行为、问题赌博和体育博彩动机。分析表明，在这些体育投注者的样本中，抑郁和焦虑高度相关。抑郁和焦虑都与更严重的赌博问题有关，而这些联系主要是通过应对动机来调节的。另一方面，中介分析表明，抑郁和焦虑主要通过增强动机与更高的体育博彩频率相关。我们还发现，这种关联在体育博彩类型上没有显著差异，在男性和女性之间也没有差异。这些结果表明，参与体育博彩的人更有可能同时患有抑郁和焦虑，并且应对动机与体育博彩者的赌博问题有关。因此，我们的研究结果支持了问题赌博的通路模型，表明对那些主要从事体育博彩的人的干预应该集中在共病抑郁和焦虑上，并应该加强应对方式。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Addictive behaviors 医学-药物滥用

CiteScore

8.40

自引率

4.50%

发文量

283

审稿时长

46 days

期刊介绍： Addictive Behaviors is an international peer-reviewed journal publishing high quality human research on addictive behaviors and disorders since 1975. The journal accepts submissions of full-length papers and short communications on substance-related addictions such as the abuse of alcohol, drugs and nicotine, and behavioral addictions involving gambling and technology. We primarily publish behavioral and psychosocial research but our articles span the fields of psychology, sociology, psychiatry, epidemiology, social policy, medicine, pharmacology and neuroscience. While theoretical orientations are diverse, the emphasis of the journal is primarily empirical. That is, sound experimental design combined with valid, reliable assessment and evaluation procedures are a requisite for acceptance. However, innovative and empirically oriented case studies that might encourage new lines of inquiry are accepted as well. Studies that clearly contribute to current knowledge of etiology, prevention, social policy or treatment are given priority. Scholarly commentaries on topical issues, systematic reviews, and mini reviews are encouraged. We especially welcome multimedia papers that incorporate video or audio components to better display methodology or findings. Studies can also be submitted to Addictive Behaviors? companion title, the open access journal Addictive Behaviors Reports, which has a particular interest in ''non-traditional'', innovative and empirically-oriented research such as negative/null data papers, replication studies, case reports on novel treatments, and cross-cultural research.