Phenotypes associated with problematic online gaming and gambling

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Excessive engagement in online gaming and gambling is increasingly prevalent among young individuals, particularly first-year university students, and is associated with significant psychosocial damage. The aim of the present study was to identify empirical clusters among...

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Autores: Granero, Roser|||0000-0001-6308-3198, Fernández Aranda, Fernando|||0000-0002-2968-9898, Demetrovics, Zsolt|||0000-0001-5604-7551, Jiménez Murcia, Susana|||0000-0002-3596-8033
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:uabarcelona_::3ce4bfa338c14744b6bb918be4b2e353
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/328666
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2026.100702
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Online gaming disorder
Online gambling disorder
Cluster
University students
Problematic internet use
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spelling Phenotypes associated with problematic online gaming and gamblinga clustering approach among young adultsGranero, Roser|||0000-0001-6308-3198Fernández Aranda, Fernando|||0000-0002-2968-9898Demetrovics, Zsolt|||0000-0001-5604-7551Jiménez Murcia, Susana|||0000-0002-3596-8033Online gaming disorderOnline gambling disorderClusterUniversity studentsProblematic internet useBACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Excessive engagement in online gaming and gambling is increasingly prevalent among young individuals, particularly first-year university students, and is associated with significant psychosocial damage. The aim of the present study was to identify empirical clusters among university students reporting problematic online gaming and gambling behaviors and to examine the extent to which these clusters differ from a control group of students without gaming- and gambling-related problems. METHOD: The sample included 273 first-year university students (180 women and 93 men, aged 18-25 years). Participants were first classified into a subgroup with problematic online gaming or gambling (n = 100) and a non-problematic (control) group (n = 173), based on DSM-5 criteria. A two-step cluster analysis was then conducted exclusively within the problematic subgroup to identify latent profiles, using indicators of addictive behavior severity, engagement with social networks and the internet, impulsivity, emotion dysregulation, gambling-related cognitive distortions, and psychological distress. Subsequently, the identified clusters were compared with each other and with the control group across a broad range of psychological and behavioral indicators. RESULTS: Two clusters were identified, primarily differentiated by the severity of gaming-gambling involvement and associated psychological vulnerabilities. Cluster profiles revealed distinct patterns of impulsivity, emotional deficit, and cognitive biases. Both clusters significantly differed from the control group, with higher scores on all clinical and cognitive measures except for the social internet use and sensation seeking. CONCLUSION: The findings provide empirical support for the heterogeneity of problematic gaming and gambling among young university students. The identification of discrete subgroups underscores the relevance of individualized prevention and intervention strategies, tailored to the severity and psychological correlates of the addictive behavior(s). These results also highlight the need to refine screening and diagnostic tools within this target population. 22026-01-0120262026-01-01Articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501VoRhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://ddd.uab.cat/record/328666https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2026.100702reponame:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UABinstname:Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaInglésengAgencia Estatal de Investigación https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033 PID2021-124887OB-I00Instituto de Salud Carlos III https://doi.org/10.13039/501100004587 DTS22/00072European Commission https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000780 101080219Generalitat de Catalunya https://doi.org/10.13039/501100002809 2021/SGR-00824Instituto de Salud Carlos III https://doi.org/10.13039/501100004587 FORT23/00032_2open accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:dnet:uabarcelona_::3ce4bfa338c14744b6bb918be4b2e3532026-06-06T12:50:31Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Phenotypes associated with problematic online gaming and gambling
a clustering approach among young adults
title Phenotypes associated with problematic online gaming and gambling
spellingShingle Phenotypes associated with problematic online gaming and gambling
Granero, Roser|||0000-0001-6308-3198
Online gaming disorder
Online gambling disorder
Cluster
University students
Problematic internet use
title_short Phenotypes associated with problematic online gaming and gambling
title_full Phenotypes associated with problematic online gaming and gambling
title_fullStr Phenotypes associated with problematic online gaming and gambling
title_full_unstemmed Phenotypes associated with problematic online gaming and gambling
title_sort Phenotypes associated with problematic online gaming and gambling
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Granero, Roser|||0000-0001-6308-3198
Fernández Aranda, Fernando|||0000-0002-2968-9898
Demetrovics, Zsolt|||0000-0001-5604-7551
Jiménez Murcia, Susana|||0000-0002-3596-8033
author Granero, Roser|||0000-0001-6308-3198
author_facet Granero, Roser|||0000-0001-6308-3198
Fernández Aranda, Fernando|||0000-0002-2968-9898
Demetrovics, Zsolt|||0000-0001-5604-7551
Jiménez Murcia, Susana|||0000-0002-3596-8033
author_role author
author2 Fernández Aranda, Fernando|||0000-0002-2968-9898
Demetrovics, Zsolt|||0000-0001-5604-7551
Jiménez Murcia, Susana|||0000-0002-3596-8033
author2_role author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Online gaming disorder
Online gambling disorder
Cluster
University students
Problematic internet use
topic Online gaming disorder
Online gambling disorder
Cluster
University students
Problematic internet use
description BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Excessive engagement in online gaming and gambling is increasingly prevalent among young individuals, particularly first-year university students, and is associated with significant psychosocial damage. The aim of the present study was to identify empirical clusters among university students reporting problematic online gaming and gambling behaviors and to examine the extent to which these clusters differ from a control group of students without gaming- and gambling-related problems. METHOD: The sample included 273 first-year university students (180 women and 93 men, aged 18-25 years). Participants were first classified into a subgroup with problematic online gaming or gambling (n = 100) and a non-problematic (control) group (n = 173), based on DSM-5 criteria. A two-step cluster analysis was then conducted exclusively within the problematic subgroup to identify latent profiles, using indicators of addictive behavior severity, engagement with social networks and the internet, impulsivity, emotion dysregulation, gambling-related cognitive distortions, and psychological distress. Subsequently, the identified clusters were compared with each other and with the control group across a broad range of psychological and behavioral indicators. RESULTS: Two clusters were identified, primarily differentiated by the severity of gaming-gambling involvement and associated psychological vulnerabilities. Cluster profiles revealed distinct patterns of impulsivity, emotional deficit, and cognitive biases. Both clusters significantly differed from the control group, with higher scores on all clinical and cognitive measures except for the social internet use and sensation seeking. CONCLUSION: The findings provide empirical support for the heterogeneity of problematic gaming and gambling among young university students. The identification of discrete subgroups underscores the relevance of individualized prevention and intervention strategies, tailored to the severity and psychological correlates of the addictive behavior(s). These results also highlight the need to refine screening and diagnostic tools within this target population.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2
2026-01-01
2026
2026-01-01
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
VoR
http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://ddd.uab.cat/record/328666
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2026.100702
url https://ddd.uab.cat/record/328666
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2026.100702
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
eng
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Agencia Estatal de Investigación https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033 PID2021-124887OB-I00
Instituto de Salud Carlos III https://doi.org/10.13039/501100004587 DTS22/00072
European Commission https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000780 101080219
Generalitat de Catalunya https://doi.org/10.13039/501100002809 2021/SGR-00824
Instituto de Salud Carlos III https://doi.org/10.13039/501100004587 FORT23/00032_2
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
instname:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
instname_str Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
reponame_str Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
collection Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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