Anthony King, Gloria Wong-Padoongpatt, and Aldo Barrita (Psychology) recently published "Risk Factors of Problem Gaming and Gambling in US Emerging Adult Non-Students: The Role of Loot Boxes, Microtransactions, and Risk-Taking" in Issues in Mental Health Nursing. This study examined the potential comorbidity between internet gambling disorder (IGD) and gambling disorder (GD) in emerging adults, as well as exploring if problematic engagement in gaming and gambling may be explained by recent trends in video game microtransactions (e.g., loot boxes) and risk-taking behaviors. The results revealed that compared to non-gamers, problematic gamers were 6.45 times more likely to problem gamble and compared to non-gamblers, problem gamblers were 5.62 times more likely to problem game. Microtransactions were the major mechanism for the relationship between IGD and GD.
