Suzanne M. Geurts

Introduction. The Netherlands lacks a standardized Dutch-language questionnaire to measure gambling harms. To address this, the current study aimed to develop and validate a set of questions spanning all gambling harms domains relevant to the Dutch context drawing on existing questionnaires. Method. First, the performance of 26 newly developed and translated items, covering eight harm domains, was evaluated. The convergent validity, test-retest stability and adequate content coverage of the item pool were evaluated. Beyond gambling product use and engagement, reference points included the Problem Gambling Severity Index, CBA-MI Reported Financial Wellbeing Scale, Australian Personal Wellbeing scale, and Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5). Secondly, the best performing items were selected for a short form scale, to support a high chance of adoption in monitoring. Results. Items performed well across multiple psychometric criteria. They demonstrated high levels of understandability, generally supportive evidence for convergent validity, and satisfactory temporal stability. These items also correlated in expected ways with participation in higher risk gambling products. Based on these results, a choice of the most suitable item from each harm domain was made, to construct the Dutch Gambling Harms Question Inventory (D-GHQI-12). Conclusion. The new 12 item Dutch gambling harms scale was constructed around explicit harm domains, verified with international experts and Dutch stakeholders, including those with lived experience of gambling harms. This ensured that most recognised domains, including crime, physical health, mental health, and financial harms, are represented by at least one item in the inventory. Taken together, the D-GHQI-12 offers a domain-balanced, Dutch-validated tool for population monitoring.

Gambling harm is increasingly recognised as a public health issue, yet comprehensive multi-indicator monitoring systems remain internationally scarce. In the Netherlands, gambling participation and online gambling revenue have risen since the 2021 legalisation of online gambling, increasing the risk of gambling harm and underscoring the need for systematic harm monitoring. However, no integrated system currently tracks the full spectrum of gambling harms across the Dutch population. This study aimed to work towards closing this gap by (1) developing a conceptual framework of gambling harms relevant to the Dutch policy, research and prevention context, and (2) mapping which of the harm indicators identified in the conceptual framework, as well as harm risk and upstream indicators, are currently measured by structural Dutch data sources, thereby also identifying gaps in measurement. The conceptual framework, synthesising existing international models and refined with expert and stakeholder input, organises different types of harm into three main domains: resources, relationships, and health. Desk research and interviews with data holders revealed that the current Dutch data landscape captures only a limited and unevenly distributed portion of the harms identified in the framework. Moreover, measurement relies predominantly on self-report data at the individual level, with objective data sources and measurement of harm at broader social levels largely lacking. The findings in this study highlight substantial gaps in current monitoring and provide a foundation for developing a comprehensive, evidence-based multi-indicator monitoring system of gambling harms.

Background: Many parents are concerned about their adolescents’ (problematic) social media use. Therefore, parents may apply restrictive mediation practices to prevent problematic social media use. However, their effectiveness remains unclear. Objective: This study aimed to provide insights into the specific groups and conditions under which restrictive mediation may effectively prevent adolescents’ problematic social media use. Specifically, we investigated the prospective relationship between rules about the amount, location, and timing of internet use and the onset of adolescents’ at-risk or problematic social media use. In addition, we examined the moderating role of demographic and parenting factors, including adolescents’ age, adolescents’ gender, adolescent involvement in rule-setting, positive parenting, parental phubbing, and quality of coparenting (2-way interactions). Furthermore, we explored whether the moderation effects of the parenting factors varied by adolescents’ age and gender (3-way interactions). Methods: Four-wave survey data of 315 adolescents (T1: mean age 13.44, SD 2.26 years; n=146, 46.3% girls, n=169, 53.7% boys) and their parents (T1: mean age 46.4, SD 5.05 years; n=292, 55.4% mothers) were used. Data were collected between April 2020 and January 2022, with a 6-month interval between each wave. Results: No significant main effect was found of internet-specific rule-setting at T1 on the onset of adolescents’ at-risk or problematic social media use throughout the study period (odds ratio [OR] 0.959, 95% CI 0.60-1.54, d=0.02). Yet, 2-way interaction analyses revealed that the effect of internet-specific rule-setting varied by adolescents’ age (OR 2.171, 95% CI [1.35-3.49], d=0.43). Specifically, for adolescents aged 15.70 years (+1 SD), stricter rules were associated with a higher likelihood of developing at-risk or problematic social media use (B=0.594, SE=0.294, 95% CI 0.02-1.17, P=.043). Two-way interaction effects of rule-setting with adolescents’ gender (OR 0.945, 95% CI 0.54-1.64, d=0.03), adolescent involvement in rule-setting (OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.77-1.36, d=0.01), positive parenting (OR 1.044, 95% CI 0.69-1.59, d=0.02), parental phubbing (OR 0.977, 95% CI [0.72-1.33], d=0.01), and quality of coparenting (OR 0.877, 95% CI 0.64-1.21, d=0.07) were not significant, nor were any of the 3-way interaction effects. Conclusions: Setting internet-specific rules seems to have a preventive effect on the development of problematic social media use symptoms in pre- and early adolescence, but may be counterproductive from the age of 15.7 years onward. These findings highlight the importance of age-appropriate parental mediation strategies to prevent problematic social media use.

Much remains unknown about whether restrictive mediation is an effective parenting strategy to prevent or reduce problematic social media use among adolescents. Therefore, this study examined bidirectional within-family effects between two restrictive mediation practices (rule-setting and reactive restrictions) and problematic social media use using random-intercept cross-lagged panel modeling. Three-wave survey data collected among Dutch adolescents (T1: N = 1928, M_age = 13.31 years, SD = 0.91, 43.3% girl) with a 1 year-interval were used. Results showed that within-family changes in problematic social media use symptoms predicted subsequent within-family changes in perceived parental restrictive mediation. More specifically, an increase in symptoms predicted a decrease in rule-setting and an increase in reactive restrictions 1 year later. Within-family changes in perceived parental restrictive mediation practices did not predict within-family changes in problematic social media use symptoms, suggesting that the relation is unidirectional. However, concluding that limiting adolescents’ Internet use is ineffective to prevent problematic social media use would be premature. Future research should investigate whether it may be an effective parenting strategy for a certain subgroup of adolescents or under certain circumstances.

Although both Internet-specific and general parenting have been linked to adolescents’ problematic social media use, until now they have been investigated as separate predictors of this behavior. As specific parenting practices occur in the broader general parenting context, this study examined how different Internet-specific parenting practices (Internet-specific rule setting, reactive restrictions towards Internet use, and co-use) and general parenting dimensions (responsiveness and autonomy-granting) co-occur, and act together in predicting adolescents’ problematic social media use. Four-wave data of 400 adolescents (T1: M age = 13.51 years, SD = 2.15, 54% girls) were used. Latent profile analysis identified three parenting profiles: Limiting and less supportive (13.5%), Tolerant and supportive (25.5%), and Limiting and supportive (60.8%). Membership to Tolerant and supportive predicted lower scores on prospective problematic social media use than membership to the other profiles. Besides, membership to Limiting and supportive predicted lower scores on problematic social media use than membership to Limiting and less supportive. No robust moderation effects of adolescents’ age and gender were found. These findings suggest that a supportive general parenting context rather than Internet use restrictions should be the focus when considering the prevention of adolescents’ problematic social media use.

Although accumulating studies indicate that alcohol-specific self-control can be useful in predicting adolescent alcohol use, little is known about its specificity. This longitudinal study aimed to advance our understanding of domain-specific self-control by examining whether alcohol-specific self-control mediates the effect of general self-control on adolescent alcohol use or has generalizing effects by also mediating the effect of general self-control on other behavior requiring self-control (adolescent digital media use and smoking). Data from 906 adolescents aged 11–14 years who were enrolled in the Dutch study Prevention of Alcohol Use in Students were used. Data were collected using online questionnaires at four annual measurements. Structural equation modelling revealed that higher alcohol-specific self-control fully mediated the effect of higher general self-control on alcohol use. Alcohol-specific self-control did not mediate the effect of higher general self-control on digital media use, but did partially mediate the effect of higher general self-control on smoking. These results suggest that alcohol-specific self-control is domain-specific, but not necessarily substance-specific. The domain-specificity of alcohol-specific self-control provides evidence for its theoretical relevance for the explanation of adolescent alcohol use. It also suggests leverage points for intervention programs focusing on improving alcohol-specific self-control to reduce adolescent alcohol use.

Almost all research on adolescents’ problematic social media use (PSMU) utilizes self-reports of symptoms. Recently, parent-report scales have been validated. Yet, in order to use parent-reports, it is imperative to understand the level of agreement between self- and parent-reported adolescents’ PSMU. This study examined agreement and discrepancies between adolescent-, mother-, and father-reported adolescents’ PSMU (assessed with the Social Media Disorder scale) on classification, the overall number of symptoms, and individual symptom level. Data from 234 Dutch adolescents aged 10–19 years and their parents (160 mothers and 91 fathers) from the Digital Family project were used. Configural invariance was established across all dyads and scalar invariance across mothers and fathers. Across adolescents and mothers/fathers, partial scalar invariance was found (one of the nine-item thresholds appeared noninvariant). Overall, we found poor agreement, but the level of agreement seems biased by the low prevalence of PSMU. Positive agreement was lower for symptoms that are harder to observe. Parental over- and underreporting compared to adolescent self-reports on the number of PSMU symptoms occurred to the same extent. Moreover, parental over- and/or underreporting were related to the number of adolescent- and parent-reported adolescents’ PSMU symptoms, adolescents’ gender, and maternal worrying about children’s social media/gaming addiction. Researchers should be aware that self- and parent-reports are not (always) interchangeable.

Almost all research on adolescents’ problematic social media use (PSMU) utilizes self-reports of symptoms. Recently, parent-report scales have been validated. Yet, in order to use parent-reports, it is imperative to understand the level of agreement between self- and parent-reported adolescents’ PSMU. This study examined agreement and discrepancies between adolescent-, mother-, and father-reported adolescents’ PSMU (assessed with the Social Media Disorder scale) on classification, the overall number of symptoms, and individual symptom level. Data from 234 Dutch adolescents aged 10–19 years and their parents (160 mothers and 91 fathers) from the Digital Family project were used. Configural invariance was established across all dyads and scalar invariance across mothers and fathers. Across adolescents and mothers/fathers, partial scalar invariance was found (one of the nine-item thresholds appeared noninvariant). Overall, we found poor agreement, but the level of agreement seems biased by the low prevalence of PSMU. Positive agreement was lower for symptoms that are harder to observe. Parental over- and underreporting compared to adolescent self-reports on the number of PSMU symptoms occurred to the same extent. Moreover, parental over- and/or underreporting were related to the number of adolescent- and parent-reported adolescents’ PSMU symptoms, adolescents’ gender, and maternal worrying about children’s social media/gaming addiction. Researchers should be aware that self- and parent-reports are not (always) interchangeable.