Evaluation of the relationship between gambling, internet addiction, and family belonging among university students

Introduction and Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the frequency of gambling among students studying at a public university and to examine the relationship between gambling and internet addiction and family belonging. This research is a quantitative study in the relational screening model type, which was conducted to examine the relationships between family belonging, gambling behavior, and internet addiction levels of university students. Method: The sample of this study consists of 324 university students studying at Harran University in the 2024–2025 academic year. In the data collection process; personal information form was used for demographic characteristics, Family Belonging Scale for family belonging, South Oaks Gambling Screening Test for gambling behaviors, and Young Internet Addiction Test-Short Form for internet addiction. Data were collected through an online structured survey based on volunteering. Frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation were calculated within the scope of descriptive statistics. Differences between two groups were analyzed with independent sample t-test, and differences between three or more groups were analyzed with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Tukey post-hoc test was applied for ANOVA results where significant differences were detected. Findings: Of the participants, 215 were female (66.4%) and 109 were male (33.6%), with a mean age of 22.9 ± 6.05 years. A total of 9.3% (n = 30) reported having gambled at least once in their lifetime, with a mean age at first gambling of 17.17 ± 2.76 years (min = 10, max = 21). The findings obtained within the scope of the research show that university students' family belonging levels are high, gambling behaviors are low, and internet addiction levels are generally in the low-medium range. The results showed that gambling behavior in university students is especially related to male gender, individual income earning, smoking and alcohol use, and low family belonging (p<0.05). According to the correlation analysis, significant and negative relationships were found between family belonging and gambling behavior (r = −.144) and internet addiction (r = −.220); and a significant and positive relationship was found between gambling behavior and internet addiction (r = .232). Conclusion: When evaluated in general, the findings show that the ties that individuals establish with their families have a function of limiting digital and risky behaviors. In this context, it is important that preventive interventions to be planned for university students should not be limited to digital literacy alone; they should also include psycho-educational programs that strengthen family ties. As a suggestion within the scope of the research, considering that the sense of belonging develops at an early age, family-participated social emotional learning activities should be included at high school and university levels