Papers by Iina Savolainen
International Gambling Studies
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted workers globally during 2020–2022 and it has had major psychologic... more The COVID-19 pandemic impacted workers globally during 2020–2022 and it has had major psychological implications for workers’ wellbeing. This longitudinal study analyzed risk and protective factors predicting COVID-19 anxiety among workers in Finland. Longitudinal national sample of Finnish workers (n = 685) participated in a five-wave study conducted in 2020–2022, covering multiple waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. Our outcome measure was COVID-19 anxiety. Predictors were psychological distress, work exhaustion, technostress, and loneliness. Models also controlled for self-regulation; social support at work and remote working; and socio-demographic background factors. Both within-person and between-person effects were analyzed using multilevel hybrid regression models. COVID-19 anxiety varied between time points which is explained by changes in circumstances during the pandemic. Highest anxiety was expressed in the middle of the Delta variant surge and lockdown in s...
Excessive online behaviors refer to harmful or disproportionate use of digital network applicatio... more Excessive online behaviors refer to harmful or disproportionate use of digital network applications. Such behaviors are likely to be associated with escapist motives. Our aim was to analyze whether escapism predicts excessive gambling, excessive gaming, and excessive internet use over time. A longitudinal sample of Finnish residents aged 18–75 years (N = 1,022, 51.27% male) was surveyed at three time points in 6-month intervals: April 2021 (Time 1), October–November 2021 (Time 2), April–May 2022 (Time 3). Of the original Time 1 respondents, 66.80% took part in the surveys at both Time 2 and Time 3. All surveys included measures for excessive gambling (Problem Gambling Severity Index), excessive gaming (Internet Gaming Disorder Test), and excessive internet use (Compulsive Internet Use Scale). Three escapism-specific questions were used to construct a dedicated escapism variable. Socio-demographic variables, alcohol consumption, and psychological distress were used as controls. The s...
Addictive Behaviors Reports
Current Addiction Reports
Purpose of Review The internet and virtual environments have enabled the formation of online comm... more Purpose of Review The internet and virtual environments have enabled the formation of online communities around a variety of interests. Online communities focused on gambling are increasingly popular and attract users to interact and share ideas and experiences with likeminded others. This study reviews evidence from the latest research examining the role of online communities in gambling behaviors and gambling problems. Recent Findings A systematic literature search resulted in 17 studies. Research shows that online communities are used for diverse reasons like discussing gambling experiences and problems, sharing tips, and celebrating winnings with others. These reasons of online community use can have both adaptive and maladaptive implications. Online gambling communities often grow through social means by inviting friends or social media contacts to join. Active users of online gambling communities are more likely at-risk or problem gamblers. Summary Online communities have an i...
BACKGROUND The uncertainty faced during the COVID-19 pandemic has been multifaceted. Consequently... more BACKGROUND The uncertainty faced during the COVID-19 pandemic has been multifaceted. Consequently, many have experienced a prolonged state of negative psychological response caused by anxiety over the COVID-19 disease and the numerous virus variants that cause it. OBJECTIVE This longitudinal study analyzed risk and protective factors predicting COVID-19 anxiety among workers in Finland. METHODS Longitudinal sample of Finnish workers were surveyed during COVID-19 crisis in September–October 2020 (T1) and March-April 2021 (T2) and September–October 2021 (T3). 72.89% of the T1 respondents took part in both T2 and T3. Analysis included only those who were working during the follow-up (N = 798). Outcome measure was COVID-19 anxiety. Predictors were psychological distress, work exhaustion, technostress, and loneliness. Models also controlled for self-regulation, social support at work and remote working and socio-demographic background factors. Both within-person and between-person effect...
Background and aims Loneliness and a low sense of mastery have been associated with excessive gam... more Background and aims Loneliness and a low sense of mastery have been associated with excessive gambling, but the underlying processes of these relationships remain unstudied. Because psychological distress can increase vulnerability to excessive gambling, we investigated its mediating role in these relationships among young people. To meet the need for cross-country research, we also observed how these relationships occur in four countries with different cultures. Design, setting and participants Demographically balanced cross-sectional survey data were collected for 15–25-year-olds in Finland (n=1200; 50% male), the United States (n=1212; 49.8% male), South Korea (n=1192; 49.6% male) and Spain (n=1212; 51.2% male). Measurements Excessive gambling was measured with the South Oaks Gambling Screen, psychological distress was assessed with the 12-Item General Health Questionnaire, loneliness was measured with the Three-Item Loneliness Scale and low sense of mastery was assessed with the...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021
Problem gambling among young people is an emerging trend globally. The online environment in part... more Problem gambling among young people is an emerging trend globally. The online environment in particular offers various possibilities for gambling engagement. This is the first cross-national survey study using the social ecological model to analyze problem gambling, especially in the online context. The study aimed to analyze how different social ecological spheres explain problem gambling. Participants were young people aged 15–25 in the United States (n = 1212), South Korea (n = 1192), Spain (n = 1212), and Finland (n = 1200). The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) instrument measured problem gambling. The regression models analyzed problem gambling with measures of intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, and societal spheres. Spanish participants had the highest SOGS score for problem gambling. In all countries, the variations in problem gambling were best explained by the organizational sphere measures (26%) when compared to the intrapersonal (11%), interpersonal (5%), and ...
JMIR Mental Health, 2020
Background In the ever-growing and technologically advancing world, an increasing amount of socia... more Background In the ever-growing and technologically advancing world, an increasing amount of social interaction takes place through the Web. With this change, loneliness is becoming an unprecedented societal issue, making youth more susceptible to various physical and mental health problems. This societal change also influences the dynamics of addiction. Objective Employing the cognitive discrepancy loneliness model, this study aimed to provide a social psychological perspective on youth addictions. Methods A comprehensive survey was used to collect data from American (N=1212; mean 20.05, SD 3.19; 608/1212, 50.17% women), South Korean (N=1192; mean 20.61, SD 3.24; 601/1192, 50.42% women), and Finnish (N=1200; mean 21.29, SD 2.85; 600/1200, 50.00% women) youths aged 15 to 25 years. Perceived loneliness was assessed with the 3-item Loneliness Scale. A total of 3 addictive behaviors were measured, including excessive alcohol use, compulsive internet use, and problem gambling. A total of...
Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2019
Computers in Human Behavior, 2019
Journal of Gambling Studies, 2018
Addictive behaviors reports, 2018
Research suggests the sense of belonging to primary groups functions as an important social resou... more Research suggests the sense of belonging to primary groups functions as an important social resource for youth well-being, but it can be compromised among those dealing with addiction. The current study examined how adolescents' and emerging adults' identification with a primary peer group consisting of friends, mediates the relationship between addictive behaviors and psychological distress. The study utilized demographically balanced survey data on 1200 Finnish participants aged 15 to 25 (mean age 21.29, 50% female). Measures were included for psychological distress, excessive drinking, excessive drug use, excessive gambling, excessive Internet use, and peer group identification. All forms of addictive behaviors had a significant direct relationship with higher psychological distress. Excessive drug use, gambling and Internet use were associated with a weaker identification with a peer group, which predicted higher psychological distress. Contrary to the above findings, ex...
Harm reduction journal, Jan 3, 2018
Severe economic difficulties are common among younger generations who currently have an easy acce... more Severe economic difficulties are common among younger generations who currently have an easy access to consumer credit and payday loans in many Western countries. These accessible yet expensive short-term loans may lead to more severe financial difficulties, including default and debt enforcement, both which are defined as debt problems within this study. This study hypothesized that consumer debt and debt problems mediate the relationship between problematic gambling and psychological distress. Excessive gambling can be funded with consumer debt, which in turn leads to the accumulation of financial stressors and, eventually, psychological distress. Three studies were conducted to examine the hypotheses. Study 1 used a demographically balanced sample of Finnish participants aged 18 to 25 years (n = 985, 50.76% female). Study 2 used a sample collected from Finnish discussion forums and social networking sites, with participants ranging from 18 to 29 years of age (n = 205, 54.63% fema...
In this study, we analyzed whether interaction dynamics are related to emotional expressions with... more In this study, we analyzed whether interaction dynamics are related to emotional expressions within online gambling communities. As data, we used 8452 comments posted on Reddit gambling communities. The data were analyzed with sentiment analysis tool VADER and multilevel regression analysis. Results showed that comments were more positive when they were directed to other users and made by users with more interactive commenting behavior. Comments were less positive in those discussions that were most active and in those that mainly involved replies to other users. We also found that more positive posts received more positive commenting and negative posts received more negative comments. Overall, the activity and interactivity of communication and emotional correlation are associated with positive emotional expression in online communication. For negative emotions, we found evidence only for emotional correlation. Future studies should explore how interaction dynamics together with mo...
Illicit drugs are sold online. Besides cryptomarkets, young people today are also using social me... more Illicit drugs are sold online. Besides cryptomarkets, young people today are also using social media to buy and sell different drugs. The aim of this nationwide study was to investigate the phenomenon of buying drugs from social media among American young people. Relatively few studies have investigated young people buying drugs online and, therefore, it is important to know more about the psychological and social risk factors of this behavior. The participants of the study were 15–25-year-olds from the U.S. (M = 20.05; 50.17% female). Buying drugs online was utilized as an outcome variable. The covariates included measures of impulsivity and delay of gratification, sense of belonging to online communities, online homophily, friends sharing risk material online, psychological distress, and measures for addictive behaviors including hazardous drinking, problem gambling, and compulsive Internet use. Results showed that buying drugs online is still a relatively rare phenomenon, but man...
Cyberaggression is a harmful behavior, but cross-national studies on cyberaggression including re... more Cyberaggression is a harmful behavior, but cross-national studies on cyberaggression including relations among its individual and social predictors are limited. This study aimed to discover the dir...
Background: The COVID-19 crisis has changed the conditions of many all over the globe. One negati... more Background: The COVID-19 crisis has changed the conditions of many all over the globe. One negative consequence of the ongoing pandemic is anxiety brought about by uncertainty and the COVID-19 disease. Increased anxiety is a potential risk factor for wellbeing at work. This study investigated psychological, situational, and socio-demographic predictors of COVID-19 anxiety using longitudinal data. Methods: A nationally representative sample of Finnish workers (N = 1308) was collected before and during the COVID-19 crisis. Eighty percent of the participants responded to the follow-up study (N = 1044). COVID-19 anxiety was measured with a modified Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Psychological and situational predictors included perceived loneliness, psychological distress, technostress, personality, social support received from the work community, and remote working. A number of socio-demographic factors were also investigated. Results: Perceived loneliness, psychological di...
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Papers by Iina Savolainen