Journal of Gambling Studies最新文献

This study investigates gambling behaviors among young Swiss males four years after the legalization of online casino gambling in Switzerland. A total of 2,349 conscripts aged 18 to 24 years, residing in the French-speaking region of the country, completed a paper-and-pencil questionnaire assessing their participation in land-based and online gambling, as well as problem gambling. Overall, 70.6% reported having gambled at least once in their lifetime, and 49.8% had gambled in the past 12 months. Among past-year gamblers, 58.3% engaged exclusively in land-based gambling, 34.4% were mixed (land-based and online) gamblers, and 7.3% gambled exclusively online. The majority (74.7%) accessed online gambling via smartphone or tablet. Among past-year gamblers, 4.4% met the criteria for problem gambling, representing 2.1% of the total sample. Problem gambling was associated with more frequent gambling, engagement across both online and land-based platforms, participation in a greater variety of games, and involvement in online casino gambling. In conclusion, four years post-legalization, we observe increased gambling participation, a shift from land-based to online gambling, and a slight, non-significant increase in problem gambling. Continued monitoring of gambling behaviors in this population is essential to detect and respond promptly to potential increases in problem gambling.

This study examined self-labelling, stigma and causal attributions in a sample of 300 people who had currently, or previously experienced, substantial gambling-related problems. Specific aims were to compare people's use of more clinical labels with public health labels relating to gambling harm and to examine whether stigma was stronger in people who made more internal attributions and who adopted clinical labels. The results showed that people rarely adopted public health terminology relating to gambling harm either in self-description or when referring themselves to others. Clinical terms (addicted, problem, compulsive) were commonly endorsed as self-labels, but only 'addicted' was commonly used when referring to themselves to others. Stigma and clinical labelling were stronger when people had more severe gambling problems, but stigma did not independently predict clinical label use and was lower if people made more internal attributions (i.e., gambling caused by their own actions). The findings support the importance of individual preferences and the careful use of appropriate language in public contexts to reduce stigma, but question whether the current emphasis on harm-related labels and the preoccupation in some papers with some clinical labels for gambling disorder may be misplaced.

There is growing recognition that those close to someone with problem gambling experience stress and strain. Research suggests they may also be at risk of developing gambling problems themselves, but this remains an underexplored area. The present study examined how exposure to problem gambling within family or friend networks relates to affected others' own gambling, and whether strong social connections reduce this risk. Using an eight-wave longitudinal dataset (N = 1530) with hybrid multilevel regression modeling, we analyzed within-person and between-person effects of exposure to a family member's or friend's problem gambling on affected others' own gambling. We further examined the protective role of social connectedness to family and friends. Gambling problems were assessed with the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) and social relationships with the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults (SELSA). Results indicated that individuals were more likely to develop problem gambling when they reported that a family member or a friend had gambling problems. Strong family relationships buffered against this risk, whereas friendships did not provide the same protection. These findings suggest that social relationships play an important role in shaping problem gambling among affected others and highlight the need to consider family and peer contexts in prevention and intervention strategies.

Gambling Disorder (GD) is a highly stigmatised condition with serious psychological, social and financial consequences. Limited public recognition regarding GD may hinder help-seeking, shape beliefs about recovery and reinforce stigma. This study seeks to establish the extent of recognition of GD as well as stigma towards it in Singapore's population using a vignette-based approach. Data from 595 participants from a nationwide vignette-based study on mental health literacy were analysed using weighted analysis and multivariable logistic and linear regression to address the aims. Participants received a vignette on GD and answered questions related to recognition of the condition, sociodemographic information, perception of help-seeking and chances of recovery for GD. Furthermore, the study also assessed stigma across three domains: "weak not sick", "dangerous/unpredictable", and "social distancing". The majority of participants (75.63%) correctly identified the vignette as GD. Informal networks, non-medical professional support and community-based resources were highly recommended help-seeking sources. Majority of the respondents believed that individuals with GD who seek appropriate help can achieve full recovery while those who do not would experience worsening of the condition. Predictors of higher stigma towards GD included older age, female gender, Malay or Indian ethnicity, being married, having friends or family members with similar problem and a high monthly income. While recognition of GD was relatively high among respondents, stigma toward individuals with GD remains prevalent particularly among certain demographic groups. Data from this study can help to improve public health interventions and policy efforts to better support those with GD.

Experiences of gambling-related harm are significant concerns among military veterans, particularly those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (CPTSD). CPTSD, as outlined in the ICD-11, includes disturbances in self-organisation (DSO), encompassing affective dysregulation, negative self-concept, and interpersonal difficulties. While anxiety and distress tolerance (DT) have been implicated in PTSD-related maladaptive behaviours, their roles in the relationship between CPTSD and gambling risk severity remain unclear. This study examines whether anxiety and DT mediate the association between CPTSD symptom clusters (PTSD and DSO) and gambling severity in UK Armed Forces veterans. A cross-sectional study was conducted with UK ex-service personnel (n = 346) who completed the International Trauma Questionnaire for CPTSD, the Generalised Anxiety Disorder scale, the Distress Tolerance Scale, and the Problem Gambling Severity Index. Mediation analyses were conducted using bootstrapped regression models. Anxiety was found to be a significant indirect pathway between CPTSD symptoms and gambling risk severity, with a stronger indirect effect observed for DSO symptoms than PTSD-specific symptoms. In contrast, DT did not show a significant indirect pathway, indicating that deficits in DT may not be central to gambling behaviours in veterans with CPTSD. These findings highlight the critical role of anxiety in gambling-related harm among veterans with symptoms of CPTSD, suggesting that interventions targeting anxiety regulation may be beneficial than those targeting distress tolerance in reducing gambling risk severity. Future research should explore additional potential pathways, such as impulsivity and trauma-related dissociation to further clarify associations between CPTSD and gambling severity.

Research suggests that Problem Gambling (PG) may result from maladaptive emotional regulation strategies aimed at escaping emotions and stress caused by negative life events and trauma. The current study, aimed to examine the effect of exposure to the mass trauma of October 7, 2023 terror attack and the consequent Swords of Iron war in Israel, and difficulties in emotional regulation on PG. We utilized longitudinal data of self-reports in the Problem Gambling Severity Index collected before the terror attack (April 2022) and during the Swords of Iron war (December 2023, March 2024, June 2024; N = 899) from a large sample of adult Jewish Israelis. Participants also completed the Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale before the war (April 2022). Results indicated that for non-problem gamblers, among men, high difficulties in emotion regulation scores were associated with increased PG scores from the time before to the times during the war (bs > 0.53, p-values < 0.003) but not for women or men with low difficulties in emotion regulation scores (bs < 0.36, p-values > 0.167). Among participants at moderate risk for PG and problem gamblers, there was a decrease in PG scores, especially among participants low in difficulties in emotion regulation, beyond gender. Findings highlight the important role of collective traumatic events and difficulties in emotion regulations as predictors of problem gambling. We discuss the study limitations, including the relatively small number of participants at risk for PG and the specificity of the sample, and offer directions for future research.

Gambling-related harm among armed forces (AF) personnel is a growing concern, yet public perceptions remain underexplored. Anticipated public stigma (the fear of how others perceive you) of gambling among the AF is a potential barrier to help-seeking. Understanding how the public perceives gambling in the AF is essential for shaping stigma-reduction strategies. A randomised, online 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment was conducted. A representative sample of the United Kingdom public (N = 396) was recruited through Prolific and randomly assigned to view a vignette featuring either an AF member or non-AF civilian who was described as engaging in either harmful or non-harmful gambling. Following exposure to their assigned vignette, participants completed measures assessing stigma and empathy towards the depicted individual. Participants perceived individuals from the AF as significantly more dangerous (p = .002) compared to non-AF civilians. When the vignette depicted gambling-related harm, as opposed to recreational gambling, participants reported significantly higher stigma across seven of the ten stigma measures (all p < .001). This study highlights how public stigma towards gambling harm is strong and can be shaped by military status, with AF personnel facing increased perceptions of dangerousness. Findings underscore the need for public stigma-reduction strategies that address both gambling-related and military-specific misconceptions.