Cryptocurrency and addictive behaviors in a census-matched U.S. Sample

ABSTRACTCryptocurrency trading continues to increase in popularity as a broad financial activity in the American populace and across the globe. Despite well-documented risks associated with the behavior and parallels between cryptocurrency trading and gambling, the mental health implications and associations of this behavior are only beginning to be understood. The objective of the current work was to provide preliminary data, using a census-matched, weighted, U.S. sample, of the sociodemographic predictors of cryptocurrency trading and the broad cluster of addictive behaviors that are associated with such behavior. Participants were recruited by YouGov Opinion polling and taken from two samples: a weighted, census-matched sample adults in the United States (N = 2,806) and an oversample of sports-wagering individuals in the United States (N = 1,557). Cryptocurrency trading habits were measured via self-report questions, as were gambling problems, and substance use and dependence. Younger, more educated, higher-income men were more likely to regularly trade cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency trading was associated with greater frequency of addictive behaviors and greater self-reported feelings of addiction. Collectively, these results suggest that cryptocurrency is often linked a wide variety of impulsive or at-risk behaviors and may be seen as an indicator of more broad concerns with risky behaviors.KEYWORDS: Substance use disordersproblem gamblingcompulsive sexual behavior disordercryptocurrencybitcoin Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).CRediT statementJBG and SWK were responsible for the conception and design of this project, and data collection. JBG developed the analytic plan; SWK provided feedback on the analytic plan. JBG conducted all formal data analysis. JBG and SWK wrote, edited, and revised the initial draft of this manuscript.Data availability statementThe data described in this article are openly available in the Open Science Framework at 10.1080/17439760.2023.2239781.Open scholarshipThis article has earned the Center for Open Science badges for Open Data and Open Materials through Open Practices Disclosure. The data and materials are openly accessible at https://osf.io/ct3jh/.Additional informationFundingThis work was funded via grants from the International Center for Responsible Gaming and the Kindbridge Research Institute awarded to JBG and SWK. JBG also received support from the Problem Gambling Network of Ohio. The funders had no role in design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publicationNotes on contributorsJoshua B. GrubbsJoshua Grubbs is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and an investigator in the Center on Alcohol, Substance use, and Addictions (CASAA) at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Grubbs also directs the Behavioral Addiction and Associated Disorders Lab (BAAAD Lab) in the clinical science program in the Department of Psychology. In these roles, Grubbs studies the so-called “behavioral addictions,” such as compulsive sexual behavior disorder, gambling disorder, and a dysregulated pornography use. He is especially interested in the social construction of addiction and understanding how social and moral contexts lead people feel out of control in their behavior. Additionally, he has an established research program in the study of antagonistic and impulsive personality traits. Across these programs of research, he has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, dozens of editorials, commentaries, and book chapters, and numerous articles for popular press.Shane W. KrausShane W. Kraus is a licensed clinical psychologist and expert in veteran health, psychopathology (the study of mental or behavioral disorders), sexual trauma, substance use disorders, gambling disorders, addictions, and compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD). He is the director of the UNLV Behavioral Addictions Lab, and a professor of psychology with UNLV’s Department of Psychology as well as the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at UNLV’s Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine. Kraus uses behavioral, epidemiological, and neurobiological methods to assess factors that contribute to the development of addictive behaviors and other co-occurring psychiatric disorders among at-risk groups such as Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. He has published extensively on sexual behavior and was part of the World Health Organization working group who put forth the diagnostic criteria for CSBD for ICD-11. His gambling research is also exploring effective screening approaches for identifying individuals with problem gambling.