A Moderated-mediation model? Exploring male social support, loneliness, depressive-vulnerability and problem-gambling

Problem-gambling, an escalating global concern, disproportionately affects men. This study investigated the joint effects of social support and loneliness on the well-established link between depressive-vulnerability and problem-gambling. Utilising a large representative survey of Australian men (n = 5,204) ranging between 16 and 64 years (M = 44.25, SD = 12.08) who completed measures of problem-gambling, depressive-vulnerability, loneliness, and social support in 2020 and then again in 2022, a moderated-mediation model was tested. Even after controlling for several covariates, the results supported the hypothesis that the effects of depressive-vulnerability on problem-gambling are influenced by social support and loneliness, R2 = .262, F (12, 5191) = 153.55, p < .001. Notably, at high levels of loneliness, low social support correlated with higher problem-gambling (DE = -.005, LLCI/ULCI ̸= 0). These findings underscore the critical role of social support in mitigating problem-gambling among lonely individuals with depressive-vulnerability and offer potential implications for intervention strategies.