Lonely gamble - A longitudinal study of loneliness, gambling to escape and problem gambling.

Background and Aims: The evidence concerning the relationships between loneliness, gambling to escape, and problem gambling is mixed. This study aimed to investigate how loneliness relates to gambling to escape and gambling problems using a longitudinal approach. Method: This population-based, longitudinal study included five time points, with data having been collected between April 2021 (T1) and April-May 2023 (T5). Participants were 18-75-year-old Finnish residents. Only those who had taken part in the study at each time point (T1-T5) and had gambled at least once a month at some point in the follow-up period were included in the study (n = 612; 54.58% male; Mage = 51.85 years). Loneliness was measured with the UCLA 3-Item Loneliness Scale, and gambling to escape was measured with three questions concerning negative escapism taken from the Motivations to Play Inventory. Problem gambling was measured using the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). Random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling was used to analyze the relationships. Results: Gambling problems predicted future loneliness on a within-person level, but loneliness did not predict future gambling problems. Also, gambling to escape predicted future gambling problems on a within-person level. On a between-person level, loneliness, gambling to escape and gambling problems were positively correlated. Discussion and Conclusion: Gambling problems may predispose individuals to future loneliness. However, the relatively small effects observed indicate that individual differences play a significant role in this regard.