Gambling, Gaming, Shopping, and Social Media Addiction: The Role of Materialistic and Hedonic Values
摘要
Emerging evidence suggests that transdiagnostic variables, such as materialistic values and views of the self, may account for both shared and specific vulnerabilities across different types of behavioral addictions. A stratified sampling approach was used to recruit 380 adults. The study was based on a cross-sectional design and involved a well balanced sample for gender (46.4% males) and for age (MAge = 40.63 years; SDAge = 17.19 years). Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing behavioral addictions (gambling, gaming, shopping, and social media use) and potential transdiagnostic variables (materialism, financially focused self-concept, and eudaimonism–hedonism orientation). Latent profile analysis identified three groups: (1) low levels of all behavioral addictions, (2) elevated levels of all addictions, and (3) high levels of social media and shopping addictions only. All the psychological variables under investigation showed consistent differences between the groups with higher level of addictive behavior and the group considered as low-risk. At the same time, a notable distinction had occurred between the two higher level of addiction profile groups; that’s the case of financially focused self-concept, which was particularly strongly linked to gaming and gambling profile. Findings highlight distinct patterns of co-occurrence among behavioral addictions, supporting models that posit shared underlying mechanisms.