Tony Leino

University of Bergen | UiB · Department of Psychosocial Science

Background Gambling disorder has been consistently linked to suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, but few studies have investigated the association between gambling disorder and suicide mortality. This study examined the risk of suicide mortality associated with gambling disorder compared to the general population and other patient groups. Meth...

Supplementary files / Appendices for: Kristensen, J. H., Baravelli, C. M., Leino, T., Pallesen, S., Griffiths, M. D., & Erevik, E. K. (2025). Association between gambling disorder and suicide mortality: a comparative cohort study using Norwegian health registry data. The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, 48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2024.1...

Background: Effective public health initiatives should be founded on a comprehensive and robust understanding of health-related factors including societal and community contexts. The Norwegian Counties Public Health Survey (NCPHS) aims for insights into the adult population on topics relevant for planning public health practices at county and muni...

Background and aims Unemployment rates are elevated among individuals with disordered gambling, yet the directionality of the relationship remains unclear. The present study investigated paid and unpaid unemployment as risk factors for future gambling disorder (GD). Methods The study employed a case-control design, including all adult Norwegians r...

Background Although gaming problems are associated with poor mental health, few population-based studies have examined its association with self-harm and suicidality. This study investigates the association between gaming problems, non-suicidal self-harm and suicidality within the past year, stratified by sex among Norwegian full-time students. Me...

Gambling problems have consistently been linked to suicidality, including suicidal ideation, attempts, and suicide. However, the magnitude of the relationship has varied significantly across studies and the potential causal link between gambling problems and suicidality is currently unclear. A meta-analytic literature review was conducted to (a) sy...

Objective The present study investigates the longitudinal relationship between problematic gambling (PG) and the five factor model’s personality traits using autoregressive cross-lagged models. Methods The data used in the current study was collected by a national survey in 2013 (n = 10,081) and a follow-up study (n = 5,848) in 2015. PG was measur...

Background The study investigated ethnicity as a risk factor for gambling disorder (GD), controlling for demographics, citizenship, and years of residency in Norway. Methods The sample comprised 65,771 individuals from a national patient registry (n = 35,607, age range 18–88 years) and a national social insurance database in Norway (n = 30,164, ag...

Background Untangling the association between gambling disorder (GD) and income is complex. Financial strain is often a consequence of GD. At the same time GD is more prevalent in the context of poverty, suggesting income may be a risk marker for GD. Aims The aim of the present study was to investigate whether income is a risk marker for GD and wh...

Introduction: Previous research has established co-occurrence between substance use disorders (SUDs) and gambling disorder (GD). Less well understood is the temporal sequencing of onset between these disorders, and in particular whether SUD is a risk factor for GD. The present study examined the temporal order between registered diagnoses of SUD a...

Background Marital status is a robust correlate of disordered gambling, but few studies have examined the direction of this association. Methods The present study used a case–control design by including all adults receiving their first gambling disorder (GD) diagnosis between January 2008 to December 2018 (Norwegian Patient Registry, n = 5,121) an...

(1) Background: The inclusion of Internet Gaming Disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) led to a rapid development of assessment instruments based on the suggested diagnosis. However, previous studies suggest that some of the symptoms in the diagnosis reflect engagement in gaming rather than a disorder or add...

Objective: Telescoping refers to the accelerated progression from starting a potentially addictive behavior to reaching a disordered level. For disordered gambling, telescoping has been reported for women compared to men. Most previous studies on telescoping have used clinical samples and retrospective reports, but this study examined a nonclinica...

Aim: This study aimed to examine the co-morbidity and temporal relationship between substance abuse disorders (SUDs) and gambling disorder (GD). Method: Cross-tabulated census data were retrieved from the Norwegian Patient Registry. The data included the number of patients by year of first-time incidence of GD and/or SUD diagnoses, age and sex from...

Background and aims The effect of internet-based psychological treatment for gambling problems has not been previously investigated by meta-analysis. The present study is therefore a quantitative synthesis of studies on the effects of internet-based treatment for gambling problems. Given that effects may vary according to the presence of therapist...

Pop-up messages utilized by gambling operators are normally presented to gamblers during gambling sessions in order to prevent excessive gambling and/or to help in the appraisal of maladaptive gambling cognitions. However, the effect of such messages on gambling behavior and gambling cognitions has not previously been synthesized quantitatively. Co...

Negative wins refer to wins smaller than the original stake on a bet. Previous studies including large numbers of mandatory trials have shown that negative wins reinforce gambling intensity. We conducted an experimental investigation of the effect of negative wins on slot machine gambling intensity, game evaluation, and gambling beliefs based on a...

Research examining gambling behavior via experiments, self-report, and/or observation presents many methodical challenges particularly in relation to objectivity. However, the use of player account-based gambling data provides purely objective data. Based on this real-world data, the primary aim of the present study was to examine gambling behavior...

Gambling venues, like casinos and pubs, provide opportunities to drink while gambling. Research has shown that gambling and alcohol problems often co-occur. There is some evidence that alcohol consumption is linked to placing higher bets and losing more money when gambling. However, other studies have not found a link. Thus, there is no consistent...

Negative wins are ‘losses disguised as wins’. They occur when gamblers win less than the original stake on a bet. For example, a gambler who bets 10 credits but wins only 7 credits has a negative win. Slot machines are programmed to celebrate negative wins and real wins similarly (i.e., with flashing lights, music, or winning sounds). Due to their...

Background and aims: Although alcohol intake and gambling often co-occur in related venues, there is conflicting evidence regarding the effects of alcohol expectancy and intake on gambling behavior. We therefore conducted an experimental investigation of the effects of alcohol expectancy and intake on slot machine gambling behavior. Methods: Parti...

There is a paucity of longitudinal investigations of gambling behavior in the transition from adolescence to emerging adulthood. We conducted a longitudinal investigation of the associations and patterns of change between mental health symptoms and gambling behavior. A representative sample of Norwegians completed questionnaires containing demograp...

Aim: Contextual factors, such as venue characteristics appear to influence gambling behavior. However, few studies have compared the relationship between gambling behavior in alcohol-serving venues (ASVs) and non-alcohol serving venues (NASVs). The aim of the study was to examine individual gambling behavior in ASVs and NASVs. Method: A repeated-me...

Losses disguised as wins (LDWs) appear to reinforce gambling persistence. However, little research has examined this phenomenon with real gamblers in natural gambling settings. We aimed to examine the relationship between within-session outcome size and subsequent gambling persistence. Account-based gambling data of individuals playing LDW games ov...

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the structural characteristics and gambling behavior among video lottery terminal (VLT) gamblers. The study was ecological valid, because the data consisted of actual gambling behavior registered in the participants natural gambling environment without intrusion by researchers. Online be...