Problem gambling severity and personal and family financial harm among students in Kazakhstan: The mediating role of psychological distress

Gambling-related financial harm may affect both students and the families who share or support their finances. Drawing on Conservation of Resources theory and the gambling-harm literature, this study examines whether psychological distress mediates the relationships between problem gambling severity and personal and family financial impact among students in Kazakhstan. Cross-sectional data were drawn from a student subsample of 449 respondents within a larger survey conducted across 20 regions. The proposed model was assessed using partial least squares structural equation modelling with 5,000 bootstrap resamples. Problem gambling severity was positively associated with psychological distress (β = .712, p < .001) and retained significant direct associations with personal financial impact (β = .516, p < .001) and family financial impact (β = .553, p < .001). The indirect associations through distress were also significant for personal financial impact (β = .088, p = .034) and family financial impact (β = .104, p = .015), indicating complementary partial mediation. These indirect components represented 14.6% and 15.8% of the respective total estimates. The findings distinguish personal from student-reported family financial consequences and identify a modest distress-related component alongside substantial direct associations. They suggest the relevance of coordinated gambling-related, psychological, and financial support for students. The cross-sectional design does not establish temporal or causal ordering.