Gambling Problems in a Sample of UK University Students: Associations with Mental Health, Other Addictive Behaviours, and Transdiagnostic Factors

University students may be particularly vulnerable to experiencing gambling-related problems. This study investigated the rate of screening positive for gambling problems in a UK university and associated factors, including demographic, mental health, and trans-diagnostic variables. We analysed cross-sectional data from the Nurture-U student mental health and wellbeing survey (2022-2024 data; N = 2302). The 3 item NORC DSM-IV Screen (NODS-CLiP) was used to identify positive screen for gambling problems. Variables of interest were anxiety, depression, eating symptoms, self-reported ADHD, problematic use of the internet (PUI), hazardous alcohol use, drug use, compulsivity and suicide attempts. Logistic regression was conducted to examine associations between gambling problems and these measures. Overall, 8.1% of students screened positive for potential gambling problems. When considering associations with comorbid mental disorders and problematic behaviours, positive associations of moderate strength were observed between a positive screen for gambling problems and any drug use (OR 3.00 [95% Confidence Interval 2.09, 4.33]), restrictive eating (OR 2.74 [1.89, 3.99]), PUI (OR 1.04 [1.02, 1.07]) and hazardous drinking (OR 1.5 [1.03, 2.26]), but not for anxiety, depression, binge eating or ADHD. When considering transdiagnostic factors, suicide attempts (OR 2.61 [1.69, 4.04]) and standardised reward drive (OR 1.41 [1.16, 1.72]) were associated with screening positive for gambling problems, while standardised perfectionism had a protective effect (OR 0.59 [0.49, 0.71]). The findings of this study suggest that gambling problems may be common in university students and linked to impairments in reward-driven compulsive behavioural patterns that can extend beyond gambling.