Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41171599›Full record

ArticleJournal of gambling studies2026

A Prospective Study of Mental Health in Relation to Online Gambling One-year Later in a Large Cohort of Adolescents in Canada.

Mackenzie L Pilkington, Mahmood R Gohari, Adam G Cole, Mark A Ferro, Tara Elton-Marshall, Rachel Laxer, Scott T Leatherdale, Karen A Patte

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of gambling studies, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Mackenzie L PilkingtonDepartment of Health Sciences, Brock University, Niagara Region, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-7992-1786
Mahmood R GohariDepartment of Health Sciences, Brock University, Niagara Region, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4289-2022
Adam G ColeFaculty of Health Sciences, Ontario Tech University, 2000 Simcoe St N, Oshawa, ON, L1G 0C5, Canada. adam.cole@ontariotechu.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5309-2725
Mark A FerroSchool of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave., Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0979-3233
Tara Elton-MarshallSchool of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Rachel LaxerPublic Health Ontario, 661 University Avenue, Suite 1701, Toronto, ON, M5G 1M1, Canada.
Scott T LeatherdaleSchool of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave., Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada.
Karen A PatteDepartment of Health Sciences, Brock University, Niagara Region, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada.

Funding

CIHR GAM-193003CIHR OF7 B1-PCPEGT 410-10-9633CIHR PJT-148562CIHR PJT-149092CIHR PJT-159693Health Canada #1617-HQ-000012Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes OOP-110788Institute of Population and Public Health MOP-114875Institute of Population and Public Health PJT-180262
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeConcerns have increased about online gambling among adolescents. Poor mental health may place adolescents at increased risk of engagement in online gambling, however, longitudinal evidence is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine how mental health relates to engagement in online gambling one-year later in a large cohort of adolescents.

methodsWe used 2-year prospective survey data from 26,818 students in Grades 9 to 11 (secondary III-IV in Quebec) attending 121 secondary schools in four Canadian provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec) who participated in the COMPASS study during the 2017/18, 2018/19, and/or 2019/20 school years. Generalized linear mixed models were used to examine the likelihood of online gambling one-year later by baseline mental health outcomes (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, psychosocial well-being, emotional dysregulation), controlling for student sex, grade, race, weekly spending money, and baseline online gambling.

resultsOnline gambling in the past 30-days was reported by 2.1%, 2.3%, and 2.5% of students in study years 2017/18, 2018/19, and 2019/20, respectively. In the combined model, students reporting high depressive symptoms were significantly more likely to report online gambling one-year later (OR = 1.58, 95%CI = 1.19, 2.09) relative to those reporting low symptoms, controlling for baseline online gambling, the other mental health measures, and sociodemographic characteristics.

conclusionThis study provides prospective evidence that high depressive symptoms may place adolescents at an elevated risk of future engagement in online gambling. It may be worthwhile targeting students with high depressive symptoms in preventative efforts.

Indexed as

Adolescent BehaviorAnxietyDepressionGamblingInternetMental HealthStudentsAdolescentCanadaFemaleHumansMaleProspective StudiesSurveys and QuestionnairesAdolescentDepressionLongitudinal studyMental HealthOnline gambling

Identifiers

PMID41171599
PMCPMC13009133

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.