Personality traits and problematic online gambling: A study among tunisian internet bettors

Online pathological gambling represents an increasingly prevalent form of behavioral addiction, driven by the rapid expansion of digital technologies and the accessibility of gambling platforms. This study sought to examine the associations between problematic online gambling and various personality traits, as defined by the Five-Factor Model. A total of 120 participants aged over 18 years were recruited for this cross-sectional investigation. Personality traits were assessed using the Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2-S), which measures five broad domains: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. The severity of problematic gambling behavior was evaluated using the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). The Mann–Whitney test revealed that individuals classified as problematic gamblers obtained significantly higher scores in neuroticism and significantly lower scores in conscientiousness than those without problematic gambling behavior. Spearman’s rank correlations further supported these findings, indicating a strong positive association between neuroticism and gambling severity, and a moderate negative association between conscientiousness and PGSI scores. A moderate positive correlation was also observed between extraversion and gambling severity, whereas no significant correlations emerged for agreeableness or openness to experience. In addition, the Kruskal–Wallis test was applied to compare levels of personality traits across three groups defined by increasing levels of gambling severity. The results confirmed significant differences in neuroticism and conscientiousness across severity groups, whereas no statistically significant differences were found for the other personality domains. Overall, these findings provide empirical evidence for the role of certain personality traits in online gambling behavior, particularly those related to emotional instability and self-regulation. This study sheds light on individual psychological profiles and may contribute to advancing our understanding of this phenomenon, as well as informing prevention and treatment efforts.

Sleh Eddine Saadi is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist specializing in various therapeutic modalities, including hypnosis, psychodrama, and schema therapy. He holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology from the University of Tunis and completed a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Brief Therapies at the Faculty of Medicine of Tunis. His main areas of interest include mental health, addictions, and cognitive development in children. He is currently working as a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist in the Mental Health Department at Mohamed Tahar Maamouri Hospital in Nabeul, Tunisia.