[Pathological gambling and internet addiction among nursing students: a pilot study]

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Psychology
• Public Health
• Addiction Research

Background:

• Pathological gambling and Internet addiction are significant public health concerns.
• Nursing students may be vulnerable to developing these addictive behaviors due to academic stress and lifestyle factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the prevalence of pathological gambling and Internet addiction among nursing students.
• To explore the potential association between these two conditions in this population.

Main Methods:

• An observational study was conducted with 420 nursing students at an Italian Nursing Degree Course.
• The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) and the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) were used to assess gambling and Internet addiction risks, respectively.
• Data were collected from November 2013 to January 2014.

Main Results:

• Out of 283 participants, 11.3% were at-risk for pathological gambling and 0.7% were probable pathological gamblers.
• The prevalence of Internet addiction was 8.8%.
• Students with Internet addiction showed a significantly higher risk of developing pathological gambling (B = 0.16; p = 0.005).

Conclusions:

• While the prevalence of diagnosed pathological gambling and Internet addiction was low, a considerable proportion of students were identified as being at-risk.
• The findings highlight a noteworthy association between Internet addiction and a higher risk of pathological gambling among nursing students.
• Further multicenter research is recommended to elucidate the complex relationship between gambling and Internet addiction in this demographic.