JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Models based on the uniqueness of addiction processes between behavioral addiction is highly debated, and the belonging of gaming disorder to the addiction nosography still controversial. An exploratory approach could clarify a hypothesized common and subjectively identifiable process in addictive behaviors and the necessarily different expressions of the disorder due to behavior specificities, in particular socio-cultural characteristics and profile of users.

Objective:

Our aim was to describe the nature of contacts to the help service exploring commonality and specificities of burden and help-seeking for a problem gambling or gaming.

Methods:

This study is an observational quanti-qualitative analysis. We include all contacts, i.e. online questions and contacts by phone or chat when the helper completed a summary, to an helpline for gamers, gamblers and relatives during 7 years, in the scope of its missions. We constituted a text corpus with online questions and summaries of contacts by phone or chat. We collected basic sociodemographic data: device used to contact the service (phone or internet), contacting the service for oneself (= “user”) or being a relative of a user and type of relative, Gambling yes/no, Gaming yes/no, age and gender of the gambler/gamer. We described the corpus and reported the computerized qualitative analysis of online questions, chat and summary of phone calls. We performed a descendant hierarchical analysis.

Results:

A total of 14564 contacts were made to the helpline: 10017 users and 4547 relatives. The corpus was composed of six classes: (1) gaming specificities; (2) shared psychological distress and negative emotions; (3) the procedure for being banned from gambling; (4) the provided help; (5) gambling specificities; and (6) financial problems.

Conclusions:

Negative emotions and shared distress linked to gambling and gaming support their classification as mental disorders in se, but meaningful differences were observed in core symptoms of addiction between gamers and gamblers, beyond specificities related to the behavior itself: loss of control was elicited in the class corresponding to gambling specificities and not by gamers and their relatives.