Perceived stress moderates spending money on digital games and gambling: a nationwide study of Finnish adults

Figures & data

Table 1. Descriptive statistics of the study variables.

Continuous study variables	M	SD	Range
Stress	18.63	3.70	0–34
In-game buying behavior	0.25	0.75	0–7
Spending on gaming	0.39	0.89	0–7
Spending on gambling	1.33	1.48	0–8
Gambling problems (PGSI)	1.31	3.33	0–25
Gaming problems (IGDT)	1.34	2.64	0–20
CIUS	8.79	9.70	0–52
Age	46.67	16.42	18–75
Categorical information of variables	n	%
Gender
Male	770	50.33
Female	750	49.41
Other	4	0.26
Problem gambling	93	6.08
Gaming disorder	9	<1
In-game buying categories
Speeding up the game	41	10.90
Virtual objects	62	16.49
New levels	52	13.83
Characters	46	12.23
Loot boxes or similar	48	12.77
Virtual currency	77	20.48
Other	50	13.30
Spending on gambling
1–99 e/month	899	90.85
100–199 e/month	81	5.29
200–299 e/month	23	1.50
300–499 e/month	15	0.98
500–999 e/month	10	0.65
1000 e or more/month	11	0.72
Spending on gaming
1–99 e/month	280	98.56
100–199 e/month	11	0.72
200–299 e/month	5	0.33
300–499 e/month	-	-
500–999 e/month	1	0.07
1000 e or more/month	5	0.33
Income
<1000 e	250	16.34
1000–1999 e	340	22.22
2000–2999 e	412	26.93
3000–3999 e	279	18.24
4000–4999 e	119	7.78
5000–5999 e	70	4.58
6000–6999 e	24	1.57
≥7000 e	36	2.35

Note. Problem gambling is based on PGSI score of 8 or higher (Currie et al., 2013); Gaming disorder is based on IGDT score of 5 or higher on a risk-point scale ranging from 0 to 9 (Király et al., 2017).

Table 2. Inter-item correlations.

	1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.	7.	8.	9.
1. PGSI	-
2. IGDT	0. 53***	-
3. Stress	0.11***	0.16***	-
4. Spending on gaming	0.38***	0.49***	0.11 ***	-
5. In-game buying behavior	0.20***	0.42***	0.06*	0.42***	-
6. Spending on gambling	0.57***	0.23	0.02	0.27***	0.07**	-
7. CIUS	0.34***	0.53***	0.24***	0.32***	0.25***	0.07**	-
8. Income	−0.01	−0.12***	−0.05	0.03	−0.07**	0.16***	−0.16***	-
9. Age	−0.16***	−0.32***	−0.11***	−0.22***	−0.25	0.07**	−0.46***	0.21***	-
10. Gender	0.11***	0.13***	−0.10***	0.09***	0.10***	0.21***	−0.06	0.21***	−0.03

Note. *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.PGSI = Problem Gambling Severity Index; IGDT = Internet Gaming Disorder Test. CIUS = Compulsive Internet Use Scale.

Table 3. Robust regression models estimating gaming problems, N = 1530.

	B	SE	p	95% CI
Model 1
In-game buying behavior	0.55	0.12	<.001	0.40, 1.10
Spending on gaming	0.74	0.18	<.001	0.32, 0.78
Perceived stress	0.01	0.02	.579	−0.03, 0.06
CIUS	0.52	0.09	<.001	0.35, 0.70
Income	−0.06	0.01	<.001	−0.08, −0.03
Male	0.30	0.05	<.001	0.20, 0.38
Age	−0.00	0.00	.029	−0.01, 0.00
Model 2
In-game buying behavior	0.56	0.09	<.001	0.39, 0.73
Spending on gaming	0.77	0.16	<.001	0.45, 1.08
Perceived stress	0.03	0.02	.229	−0.02, 0.07
In-game buying behavior *Stress	0.09	0.02	<.001	0.04, 0.14
CIUS	0.49	0.09	<.001	0.32, 0.66
Income	−0.05	0.01	<.001	−0.08, −0.03
Male	0.25	0.04	<.001	0.17, 0.33
Age	−0.00	0.00	.022	−0.01, 0.00

Note. CIUS = Compulsive Internet Use Scale.

Table 4. Robust regression models estimating gambling problems (PGSI), N = 1530.

	B	SE	p	95% CI
Model 1
Perceived stress	0.03	0.02	.219	−0.01, 0.65
Spending on gambling	0.79	0.09	<.001	0.62, 0.96
Income	−0.06	0.01	<.001	−0.09, −0.03
CIUS	0.29	0.04	<.001	0.20, 0.37
Male	0.06	.040	.126	−0.02, 0.14
Age	−0.01	0.00	<.001	−0.01, −0.00
Model 2
Perceived stress	0.13	0.05	.005	0.04, 0.22
Spending on gambling	0.87	0.11	<.001	0.65, 1.10
Spending on gambling*Stress	0.30	0.09	.001	0.12, 0.48
Income	−0.07	0.02	<.001	−0.10, −0.04
CIUS	0.30	0.05	<.001	0.21, 0.40
Male	0.05	0.04	.227	−0.03, 0.13
Age	−0.01	0.00	.001	−0.01, −0.00

Note. CIUS = Compulsive Internet Use Scale.

Figure 1. Adjusted predictions depicting the interaction between perceived stress and in-game buying behavior).

Note. IGDT = Internet Gaming Disorder Test.

Figure 2. Adjusted predictions depicting the interaction between perceived stress and spending money on gambling.

Note. PGSI = Problem Gambling Severity Index.

Currie, S. R., Hodgins, D. C., & Casey, D. M. (2013). Validity of the problem gambling severity index interpretive categories. Journal of Gambling Studies, 29(2), 311–327. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-012-9300-6

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Király, O., Sleczka, P., Pontes, H. M., Urbán, R., Griffiths, M. D., & Demetrovics, Z. (2017). Validation of the ten-item Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGDT-10) and evaluation of the nine DSM-5 internet gaming disorder criteria. Addictive Behaviors, 64, 253–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.11.005

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Data availability statement

The data generated and analyzed in the current study are not publicly available due to the fact that they are part of research in progress but are available from author A.O. on reasonable request.