Journal of Gambling Studies最新文献

Participation in online gambling is growing and the risk of experiencing harms is also increasing. Brief personalised feedback interventions have been shown to prevent, reduce and address gambling harm and this randomised controlled trial tested the effectiveness of a version customised for the UK. A sample of 1586 online gambling participants with moderate or problem gambling were rapidly recruited from an existing Internet panel of UK residents. Participants were randomised to a no intervention control group or received the self-directed, online intervention which included normative feedback and personalised information explaining the consequences of gambling above lower-risk guidelines. One- and three-month follow-ups assessed the short-term impact on frequency and harm. Feedback and recommendations were collected to guide improvements and increase future utility. All gambling outcomes showed improvement between the initial survey and both follow-ups, however, there were no differences between the intervention and control groups. Most participants displayed normative misperceptions when estimating how much others the same age and gender gambled. The majority of the sample had never previously sought treatment despite over a third of these reporting moderate or problematic levels of gambling. There is need for a publicly available, low-cost alternative to traditional treatment in order to help the large proportion of people with gambling concerns who would not otherwise seek formal support. Although an intervention effect was not detected in this sample, Internet-based alternatives remain a promising opportunity meriting further research.

The Prevention and Etiology of Gambling Addiction Study in the U.S. (PEGASUS) was a prospective cohort study, conducted in Maryland from 2015 to 2022, that sought to measure the comorbidities and impact of gambling behavior. In-person and telephone study visits collected data about gambling history, chronic health conditions, mental health, and substance use. The study used the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) to categorize participants as having or not having a history of probable pathological gambling (PPG). The analysis included data from 1,195 participants who were each followed for up to four years. The study intentionally over-sampled gamblers, resulting in a sample in which 34.2% of participants met the study criteria for lifetime history of PPG. Of the 22 chronic health conditions with sufficient numbers for analysis, 17 showed statistically significant relationships with PPG, with mental health disorders standing out as having particularly strong associations. Alcohol and drug use problems, along with smoking, were also significantly more common among participants with PPG compared to those without PPG. The physical health conditions that showed the strongest associations with PPG were restless leg syndrome, high blood pressure, seizures and epilepsy, and stroke. This analysis demonstrated which physical health, mental health, and substance use characteristics were most commonly comorbid with Gambling Disorder, which may inform public health policymakers and healthcare professionals as they target screenings for and interventions against problematic gambling.

Most epidemiological surveys focus on adult gambling behaviors related to traditional gambling forms, while studies on novel forms often focus on loot boxes and cryptocurrency trading individually. This study examines the co-ocurrence of emergent gambling and gambling-like practices, analyzing the demographic and psychological characteristics of involved gamblers. A cross-sectional study surveyed 1429 Spanish individuals aged 18-65, using a web-based questionnaire. The survey assessed participation in 19 gambling (e.g., lotteries, sports betting) and gambling-like activities (e.g., trading of cryptocurrencies and other assets, buying loot-boxes), along with sociodemographic and substance use. Problem gambling (PGSI), Impulsivity (UPPS-P), and cognitive distortions (Labrador's cognitive distortions scale) were also assessed. Participants who gambled over the past year (n = 921) were classified into four groups: traditional gambling (TG) only (64.5%, n = 594), TG with trading activities (27.5%, n = 253), TG with gambling withing video games or streaming platforms (2.5%, n = 23), and TG with both trading and video gambling (5.5%, n = 51). Most gamblers engaged exclusively in traditional formats, but 35.5% also participated in novel gambling forms. Those involved in both trading and video gambling were generally younger, male, with higher levels of impulsivity and gambling-related cognitive distortions compared to TG-only gamblers (p < 0.001). This group also exhibited higher rates of problem gambling and substance use (p < 0.001). This study emphasize the importance of including emerging gambling activities, which are particularly prevalent among high-risk gamblers, in epidemiological surveys. Identifying new gambling patterns and associated risk factors could help optimize public policies and develop more effective regulatory and prevention strategies.

Although previous research has identified psychiatric symptoms and dissociation as important factors in problem gambling, the role of gambling motives in these relationships has received scant attention. According to the literature, the theoretically "riskier" motives (coping and enhancement) are associated with problem gambling. The present study examined the mediating role of gambling motives between psychiatric symptoms, dissociative experiences, and problem gambling severity. A total of 688 participants (57.8% male, M_age = 40.8 years, SD = 13.8) completed the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), Dissociative Experiences Scale-II (DES-II), Gambling Motives Questionnaire (GMQ), and Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). The overall model had a good fit to the data. The results indicated that psychiatric symptoms had a significant direct effect and a significant indirect (mediating) effect on problem gambling severity via the coping motive, while dissociation only showed a significant indirect effect via the coping motive. The structural equation modeling showed that psychiatric symptoms, both directly and indirectly (via coping motives), influenced problem gambling severity, but dissociation did so indirectly only via coping motives. These results suggest that dissociation amplifies vulnerability to escape-style gambling, a concept in which an individual tries to regulate either negative mood states or psychological arousal by gambling. Awareness of dissociative tendencies and targeted interventions may help reduce gambling-related harms.

Young men aged 18-25 years are at disproportionately increased risk for gambling problems compared to their older or female counterparts. The unique mechanisms that precipitate these problems in this group remain unclear. Data from the largest longitudinal cohort study on Australian men's health (the Ten to Men Study) were used to identify the psychosocial, health-related, and gambling-related behavioral predictors of problem gambling severity in 265 young men aged 18-25 years. Hierarchical multiple ordinal logistic regression analyses found these predictors to explain a moderate proportion of variance in problem gambling severity. Four of the 17 predictors included accounted for unique variance. Specifically, higher levels of problem gambling severity were explained by lower levels of anxiety, higher levels of depression, and a higher frequency of prior engagement in sports gambling and fantasy sports gambling. Other psychosocial factors (e.g., masculine norm adherence), health-related behaviors (e.g., problem alcohol use), and gambling-related behaviors (e.g., casino or electronic gaming machines) did not explain any further variance. These findings are the first to longitudinally examine the risk factors for problem gambling severity in Australian men aged 18-25 years. The findings highlight unique developmental and sociocultural factors that may increase young men's vulnerability to problem gambling. Whilst mental health difficulties are a known risk factor for gambling pathology, the identification of sports and fantasy sports gambling frequency as the greatest risks for later gambling problems emphasizes a need for initiatives that can identify and support young men susceptible to this form of gambling.

A large body of research has evidenced different risk factors associated with the severity of gambling. However, most of the research has been conducted with a male population, and consequently it has been inferred that the female population presents the same experiences and characteristics. Research on female gamblers is limited, with the result that their gambling-related problems are not effectively addressed. In light of this, the study aims were two-fold: (1) to identify differences between Spanish and Italian women seeking treatment for a gambling disorder, and (2) to examine variables associated with gambling severity in a clinical sample of women. For this study, a total of 106 women gamblers (M_age = 48.83; SD = 12.41) completed the assessment, evaluating gambling behavior, alexithymia, hopelessness, and mental health (depression, anxiety, and hostility). Results indicated that Spanish and Italian women showed differences in sociodemographic, psychological, and gambling-related variables. Furthermore, exhibiting higher levels of depressive symptoms, and experiencing difficulties in identifying emotions were related to the increased gambling severity. Also, received the Italian intervention was related to lower gambling severity. These findings emphasize the need to provide evidence-based treatments, as well as to improve existing treatments and develop prevention and intervention strategies adapted to the characteristics of female gamblers.

People with mental health problems are subject to stigmatisation and there is evidence that addictive disorders are particularly stigmatised. Aim of this study was to analyse potential differences in the amount or quality of stigmatisation between substance- and non-substance related addictive disorders. An experimental vignette study was conducted, in which participants of an online survey (N = 2052, 50.4% male, 49.0% female, 0.6% diverse, age: M = 40.7 [SD = 14.92] years) randomly received one of four descriptions of a female or male person with either gambling disorder, alcohol use disorder, internet use disorder or mild depressive symptoms (control condition). Several dimensions of stigmatisation were assessed, including desire for social distance, emotional reactions, assumed dangerousness, blame, categorial thinking and otherness. Results revealed that stigmatisation was highest for gambling and alcohol and significantly lower for the internet vignette. Stigmatisation scores were higher for male compared to female vignettes, independently of vignette content. All three descriptions of addictive disorders received higher stigmatisation than the control condition, though there were differences in the kind of stigmatisation received. Such disparities may be attributable to a range of factors, including the level of familiarity with and preconceived assumptions about the disorders, such as perceiving them as character flaws. Since only a minority of individuals affected by gambling disorder receive therapeutic care in Germany, experiences of stigmatisation might be one of the reasons. Anti-stigma efforts are necessary to reduce the barriers for those affected to seek help.

In literature, there is a lack of multidimensional analyses that examine the co-occurrence of multiple addiction-related behaviors within households. This study aims to fill that gap by identifying the demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with Turkish households in which tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and gambling occur simultaneously, thereby contributing both to academic understanding and to informed policymaking. The study utilizes micro data from the Household Budget Survey conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute between 2015 and 2019. The probabilities of households engaging in tobacco use, alcohol consumption and gambling behaviors are estimated simultaneously with the Multivariate Probit Model, which also considers correlations among unobservable factors. It has been determined that demographic and socioeconomic factors have separate significant effects on harmful habits. By focusing on the social and cultural dynamics in Türkiye, this study provides insights into harmful habits in households, contains guiding results especially for developing local policies. It has been identified that in Türkiye, deterrent policies for tobacco use should prioritize targeting young, low-educated, high-income males; for alcohol consumption, the focus should be on middle-aged, highly educated, high-income, single males; and for gambling, priority should be given to unemployed, middle-aged, highly educated, high-income, single males.

Although gambling disorder (GD) may affect romantic relationships, and these may influence its prevention and intervention, there is a gap about this issue in the literature. People with GD present greater emotional dysregulation, and lack of communication and couple satisfaction is observed in their romantic relationships. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were, first, to explore the differences between couple satisfaction, positive communication and emotional dysregulation in individuals with GD and their partners. Second, to analyse the relationships between the variables in GD patients, their partners, and betwen the couple members. Third, to study the predictive role of positive communication and emotional dysregulation in couple satisfaction. The sample comprised 30 people: 15 male individuals with gambling disorder and their respective female partners. Results showed that the partners scored lower in couple satisfaction. Likewise, positive correlations were found between communication and satisfaction, but only the partners' emotional dysregulation significantly correlated with the aforementioned variables. Finally, only positive communication predicted couple satisfaction. Consequently, it is argued that communication and emotion-regulation skills in romantic relationships could influence the development, maintenance, and rehabilitation of GD. Providing comprehensive care that enhances romantic relationships could be beneficial because both individuals can reciprocally influence each other's mental health.

Online gambling has grown to be a significant industry but it faces regulatory threats because of perception that it is heavily dependent on a small segment of its customers who gamble heavily and at a level carrying elevated risk of harm. Employing a large multi-operator data set from Britain, which records individual transactions by some 140,000 individuals observed over one year, we are enabled to provide more precise estimates of the degree of concentration of revenue, compared with previous studies. High dependence on a relatively small number of customers is shown though there is variation from product to product in how small the group of account-holders of potential concern is. We conclude with a discussion of prospects for the industry in light of heightened awareness of gambling harm and resulting restrictions on online gambling spending introduced or proposed by governments or regulators in several jurisdictions.