Research Article

The Digital Betting Trap: A Neuro-Theological Model of Gambling Addiction Among Young Adults in Monrovia

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Psych Educ Multidisc J, 2026, 53 (3), 327-338, DOI: https://doi.org/10.70838/pemj.530307, ISSN 2822-4353
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Abstract

This study developed the Trauma-Hope-Agency Nexus, a transdisciplinary conceptual model for analyzing Gambling Disorder among young adults in post-conflict Monrovia, Liberia. Employing a systematic literature review methodology, the research synthesized evidence from clinical neuroscience, trauma psychology, cognitive behavioral science, anthropology, and African religious studies. The findings suggest that compulsive digital sports betting functions as a triple asylum: (1) a neurobiological escape from trauma-induced autonomic dysregulation, (2) a cognitive-behavioral arena providing an illusion of control amidst systemic powerlessness, and (3) a spiritual system that fills existential voids with a materialistic eschatology of chance. The model reveals how digital betting economies may exploit interconnected vulnerabilities unique to post-conflict, youth-marginalized settings. The study concludes that effective intervention might require integrated praxis bridging clinical trauma-informed care, public policy addressing structural unemployment, and religious institutions developing a Public Health Theology that reconstructs hope within community and vocation. This holistic framework reframes gambling addiction from an individual moral failing to a potential symptom of collective psychospiritual distress.

Keywords public health youth liberia gambling disorder behavioral addiction post-conflict trauma African theology
Authors 2

The team behind this paper

2 authors, 1 institution.

This paper Sahmyook University — South Korea Sahmyook University 2 authors Charles Yoofi Des-bordes — corresponding author CD Charles Yoofi Des-bordes ✉ Geum Seon Lee GL Geum Seon Lee

Readership

1,036 reads over 8 months.

March 2026 October 2026

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This article is token #7358 of SciMatic Articles (ERC-1155): 1,000,000 tokens, minted once, never more. The chain also stores a fingerprint (SHA-256) of the article's record, so anyone can check that it has not been altered.

HolderWalletTokens
SciMatic 0xc35709…277732 100,000 (10%)
Charles Yoofi Des-bordes 0x0f0e0c…947d9F 450,000 (45%)
Geum Seon Lee 0x17F1bB…6195c9 450,000 (45%)
Content hash 0xff270fcddcc5812d4b2f14268d8b18718dea2b6cc43ed49bc8e7735dfc13eb80

Bibliographic Information

Charles Yoofi Des-bordes, Geum Seon Lee, (2026). The Digital Betting Trap: A Neuro-Theological Model of Gambling Addiction Among Young Adults in Monrovia, Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 53(3): 327-338
Bibtex Citation
@article{charles_yoofi_des-bordes2026pemj,
author = {Charles Yoofi Des-bordes and Geum Seon Lee},
title = {The Digital Betting Trap: A Neuro-Theological Model of Gambling Addiction Among Young Adults in Monrovia},
journal = {Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal},
year = {2026},
volume = {53},
number = {3},
pages = {327-338},
doi = {10.70838/pemj.530307},
url = {https://scimatic.org/index.php/show_manuscript/7358}
}
APA Citation
Des-bordes, C.Y., Lee, G.S., (2026). The Digital Betting Trap: A Neuro-Theological Model of Gambling Addiction Among Young Adults in Monrovia. Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 53(3), 327-338. https://doi.org/10.70838/pemj.530307

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