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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Frequent card playing and pathological gambling: the utility of the Georgia Gambling Task and Iowa Gambling Task for predicting pathology.

The current investigation examined performance on two laboratory-based gambling tasks, the Georgia Gambling Task (GGT; Goodie, 2003. The effects of control on betting: Paradoxical betting on items of high confidence with low value. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 29, 598-610) and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT; Bechara, Damasio, Damasio, & Anderson, 1994. Insensitivity to future consequences following damage to human prefrontal cortex. Cognition, 50, 7-15), as well as self-reported markers of gambling pathology using the Diagnostic Interview for Gambling Severity (DIGS; Winters, Specker, & Stinchfield, 2002. The downside: Problem and pathological gambling (pp. 143-148). Reno, NV: University of Nevada, Reno) among a sample of undergraduate students who are frequent card players. Two hundred twenty-one participants (55 female and 166 male; mean age 19.21 years) who self-classified as playing cards at least once per month completed these measures. Performance on GGT and IGT systematically related to gambling-related pathology in several ways. Overconfidence and bet acceptance on the GGT, and myopic focus on reward on the IGT, predicted gambling related pathology. GGT and IGT performance correlated with each other, but both contributed independently to predicting gambling pathology. Card playing frequency predicted gambling pathology but not GGT or IGT performance. Discussion focuses on the role of biases of judgment and risky decision making in pathological gambling.

Behavior, Addictive↗
PubMed2000

Illegal behaviors in problem gambling: analysis of data from a gambling helpline.

Problem gambling behaviors, particularly the most severe form, which is pathological gambling (PG), represent an emerging public health problem. Compared with the general population, individuals with problem gambling are more likely to have reports of legal issues, including commission of crimes, arrest, and incarceration. The goal of the present study is to examine the characteristics of individuals seeking help for gambling problems with regard to reports of illegal behavior secondary to gambling. Individuals with gambling problems were identified through use of a 24-hour gambling helpline, and information regarding the identified problem gambler was investigated with respect to reported presence or absence of gambling-related illegal behaviors. Identified gamblers with reported gambling-related illegal behaviors compared with those without such behaviors appeared to experience more severe gambling-related problems. Despite being on average younger, gamblers with acknowledged gambling-related illegal behaviors were more likely to have reports of having problems with multiple forms of gambling, debts to acquaintances, been suicidal secondary to gambling, used alcohol or drugs excessively, and received mental health treatment. Secondary analyses of the subgroup of gamblers with gambling-related illegal behaviors revealed that those with reports of arrest or incarceration secondary to gambling compared with those with gambling-related illegal behaviors but without arrest or incarceration secondary to gambling were more likely to have features similar to those described for individuals with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). That is, the gambler with reported arrest or incarceration secondary to gambling was more likely to be male, unemployed, single, and have reports of problems with excessive drug or alcohol use. In contrast, the gamblers acknowledging gambling-related illegal behaviors but not arrest or incarceration secondary to gambling were predominantly female and more likely to have reports of problems with non-strategic forms of gambling (e.g., slot machine), owing money to legitimate sources of borrowing, having filed for bankruptcy, and having family problems related to gambling. The findings indicate: (1) individuals with reported legal problems secondary to gambling represent a more ill subpopulation of problem gamblers; and (2) there exist separate subgroups of gamblers with gambling-related illegal behaviors (i.e., those with or without reported arrest or incarceration secondary to gambling) with strikingly different characteristics and possibly different treatment needs. The results of the present study highlight the importance of the identification and treatment of individuals with gambling problems with respect to legal issues.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Gambling and problematic gambling with money among Norwegian youth (12-18 years).

An epidemiological study was performed on a representative sample of the Norwegian youth population (12-18 years; n=3237; response rate 45.2%). The proportion that never gambled was 17.6% and a majority (57.5%) gambled seldom, whereas 24.9% gambled weekly (36.2% of the males and 13.1% of the females). In relation to problematic gambling, the results showed that 1.76% had pathological gambling (2.79% in men and 0.69% in females) and 3.46% "at-risk" gambling. Problematic gambling (pathological gambling plus "at-risk" gambling) was 5.22% (7.82% of the males and 2.52% of the females). The group gambling frequently (at least weekly) was used to calculate pathological gambling and "at-risk" gambling. This resulted in high values, with 7.08% with pathological gambling (7.69% of males and 5.31% of females) and an additional 13.91% with "at-risk" gambling. The DSM-IV, with only 10 questions, gives a conservative estimate of pathological gambling. Slot machines proved the most popular game with 81.8%, followed by football tip (70.8%), Lotto (68.7%) and lotteries (39.4%). When it comes to problematic and pathological gambling, Lotto ranked high compared to other plays that were used more frequently.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

A hidden curriculum: gambling and problem gambling among high school students in Auckland.

ISSUE ADDRESSED: Participation in gambling by young people aged 13-18 years. METHOD: During 2001, prior to the passing of legislation to minimise gambling harm, more than 500 students from six high schools completed a survey of their participation in gambling during the previous 12 months, and completed three problem gambling screens. RESULTS: Gambling, including under-age gambling, was a common event. Up to one in five were identified as at risk for problem gambling on at least one screen. Students who were non-European, or were from low socioeconomic areas, were more likely to be at risk for problem gambling. Help for gambling problems was preferred from friends and family rather than others, while inclusion of information in the education curriculum about risk of gambling problems was supported. CONCLUSIONS: The survey provided evidence for pre-legislation baseline gambling behaviour, and risk for problem gambling, of students attending high schools in Auckland. Levels of risk for problem gambling paralleled the elevated risk found for youth in many countries. Raising awareness, through a school curriculum, of risk for gambling problems among adolescents may be explored as a strategy to reduce the high levels of risk for gambling problems identified.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Simultaneous drinking and gambling: a risk factor for pathological gambling.

The aim of the current study was to determine the effect of simultaneous drinking and gambling on negative consequences from gambling. Data was analyzed from a national telephone survey of 2631 US residents aged 18 or older. Males were more likely than females to drink while gambling. Simultaneous drinking and gambling was more closely associated with video keno, pull tabs, dice (not in a casino) and casino gambling than with other types of gambling. Those who drank while gambling were more likely to be problem gamblers, even when holding constant frequency of gambling, size of the average win or loss, and average alcohol consumption. Those gamblers who are drinkers, but did not drink while gambling, had a prevalence of problem gambling of close to zero. They had a lower prevalence of problem gambling than gamblers who didn't drink alcohol at all in the past year, and a much lower prevalence than those who drank while gambling. These results were interpreted to mean that simultaneous drinking and gambling is an indicator of a more reckless gambler. The results did not support the theory that gambling while under the influence of alcohol causes more risky gambling behavior.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Gambling urges in pathological gambling: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

BACKGROUND: Gambling urges in pathological gambling (PG) often immediately precede engagement in self-destructive gambling behavior. An improved understanding of the neural correlates of gambling urges in PG would advance our understanding of the brain mechanisms underlying PG and would help direct research into effective treatments. METHODS: Echoplanar functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess brain function during viewing of videotaped scenarios with gambling, happy, or sad content. Participants rated the quality and magnitude of their emotional and motivational responses. RESULTS: Men with PG (n = 10) reported mean +/- SD greater gambling urges after viewing gambling scenarios vs control subjects (n = 11) (5.20 +/- 3.43 vs 0.32 +/- 0.60; chi21,19 = 21.71; P<.001). The groups did not differ significantly in their subjective responses to the happy (P =.56) or sad (P =.81) videotapes. The most pronounced between-group differences in neural activities were observed during the initial period of viewing of the gambling scenarios: PG subjects displayed relatively decreased activity in frontal and orbitofrontal cortex, caudate/basal ganglia, and thalamus compared with controls. Distinct patterns of regional brain activity were observed in specific temporal epochs of videotape viewing. For example, differences localized to the ventral anterior cingulate during the final period of gambling videotape viewing, corresponding to the presentation of the most provocative gambling stimuli. Although group differences in brain activity were observed during viewing of the sad and happy scenarios, they were distinct from those corresponding to the gambling scenarios. CONCLUSIONS: In men with PG, gambling cue presentation elicits gambling urges and leads to a temporally dynamic pattern of brain activity changes in frontal, paralimbic, and limbic brain structures. When viewing gambling cues, PG subjects demonstrate relatively decreased activity in brain regions implicated in impulse regulation compared with controls.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Familial influence on offspring gambling: a cognitive mechanism for transmission of gambling behavior in families.

BACKGROUND: The problem-gambling literature has identified a range of individual, cognitive, behavioral and emotional factors as playing important roles in the development, maintenance and treatment of problem gambling. However, familial factors have often been neglected. The current study aims to investigate the possible influence of parental factors on offspring gambling behavior. METHOD: A total of 189 families (546 individuals) completed several questionnaires including the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) and the Gambling Related Cognition Scale (GRCS). The relationships were examined using Pearson product-moment correlations and structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses. RESULTS: Results showed that generally parents' (especially fathers') gambling cognitions and gambling behaviors positively correlated with offspring gambling behaviors and cognitions. However, SEM analyses showed that although parental gambling behavior was directly related to offspring gambling behavior, parental cognitions were not related to offspring gambling behavior directly but indirectly via offspring cognitions. CONCLUSION: The findings show that the influence of parental gambling cognition on offspring gambling behavior is indirect and via offspring cognitions. The results suggest a possible cognitive mechanism of transmission of gambling behavior in the family from one generation to the next.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Alcohol use and prior substance abuse treatment in relation to gambling problem severity and gambling treatment outcome.

Recent research has made it clear that problematic gambling is often accompanied by problematic alcohol use. Unfortunately, little is known about the nature of this association, especially as it relates to gambling treatment outcome. The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of current alcohol use level and previous substance abuse treatment on the symptoms of a large cohort of pathological gamblers as well as on their response to treatment for pathological gambling. The sample included 464 men and 301 women recruited at six gambling treatment programs in Minnesota. Gambling treatment patients were assessed on a number of gambling problem severity and related clinical variables using the Gambling Treatment Outcome Monitoring System (GAMTOMS). Patients with frequent alcohol use had greater gambling involvement at baseline than infrequent alcohol users. Patients with a previous history of substance abuse treatment had more severe psychosocial problems, ostensibly resulting from their gambling behavior, than patients without past substance abuse treatment. A MANOVA with repeated measures showed that neither pretreatment alcohol use, nor past substance abuse treatment exerted significant effects on gambling treatment outcome. While the level of pretreatment alcohol use and a history of substance abuse treatment are markers for greater gambling problem severity, treatment outcome for pathological gambling was not adversely impacted by these variables.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Gambling and correlates of gambling among Minnesota public school students.

This study examines the prevalence of gambling and measures the relationships between gambling behavior and a number of demographic, psychosocial, and behavioral variables among Minnesota public school students. The sample includes 78,582 male and female Minnesota public school students enrolled in the 9th and 12th grades. Students were administered the 1998 Minnesota Student Survey, a 121-item, anonymous, self-administered, paper-and-pencil questionnaire that inquires about multiple health-related content domains, including gambling behavior. The majority of students were found to have gambled at least once during the past year, however, most students did not report gambling frequently, nor did they report problems associated with their gambling. Boys reported gambling more often than girls, and older students gambled more often than younger students. A larger percentage of Mexican/Latin American, African American, American Indian, and mixed race students gambled at weekly and daily rates than Asian American and Caucasian students. Variables associated with gambling frequency included antisocial behavior, gender (being a male), alcohol and tobacco use, age, feeling bad about the amount of money they bet, a desire to stop gambling, and increased sexual activity. Gambling appears to be related to other risk-taking behaviors and may be a part of the adolescent experimentation with adult behaviors.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1998

Adolescent Gambling Behavior: A Prevalence Study and Examination of the Correlates Associated with Problem Gambling.

Eight-hundred and seventeen adolescent high school students in the Montreal region completed the DSM-IV-J gambling screen along with a questionnaire devised by the authors inquiring about their gambling behavior, including items assessing the types of activities in which they engage, frequency of involvement, reasons for gambling, and their cognitive perceptions of gambling activities. The results indicate that, in general, 80.2% of students reported having gambled during the previous year, with 35.1% gambling a minimum of once per week. Adolescents reported participating in gambling behavior more often than any other addictive behavior, including cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and illicit drug use. The mean age of onset of gambling behavior for the sample was 11.5 years. The rate of pathological gambling was 4.7% as measured by the DSM-IV-J. Pathological gamblers were more likely to have parents with gambling problems and to be engaging in illegal activities than non-pathological gamblers. Gender differences were evident, with males engaging in gambling activities more than females. Differences in game preferences were found, with males more attracted to sports lottery tickets and sports pool betting and females more attracted to lottery tickets and bingo. Gambling awareness and prevention issues are addressed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Contingent gambling-drinking patterns and problem drinking severity moderate implicit gambling-alcohol associations in problem gamblers.

Although problem gambling and problem drinking often co-occur, the processes underlying this association are not well understood. This study investigated the effects of contingent gambling-drinking patterns and problem drinking severity on implicit gambling-alcohol associations. Participants were 144 (34 female) problem gamblers. The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) measured severity of problem gambling. The Brief Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (BMAST) measured severity of problem drinking. The Implicit Association Test (Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1464-1480) measured gambling-alcohol associations. Participants who reported drinking when they won displayed faster response time (i.e., priming) on trials where alcohol words were paired with gambling win (e.g., jackpot) vs. gambling loss (e.g., forfeit) words. The tendency to drink in response to losses did not influence the priming effect of win cues or moderate the effects of Win-Drinking Pattern on priming. Severity of problem drinking on the BMAST also correlated positively the priming effects of win cues. These findings indicate that a tendency to drink in response to gambling wins and more severe alcohol problems each coincide with stronger associations between gambling win and alcohol concepts in memory. Such associations can promote drinking and its attendant effects (e.g., poor decision-making) in problem gamblers, and thus, may contribute to co-morbid gambling and alcohol use disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Gambling and problem gambling among recently sentenced male prisoners in four New Zealand prisons.

Recently sentenced inmates in four New Zealand male prisons (N = 357) were interviewed to assess their gambling involvement, problem gambling and criminal offending. Frequent participation in and high expenditure on continuous forms of gambling prior to imprisonment were reported. Nineteen percent said they had been in prison for a gambling-related offence and most of this offending was property-related and non-violent. On the basis of their SOGS-R scores, 21% were lifetime probable pathological gamblers and 16% were probable pathological gamblers during the six months prior to imprisonment. Of the "current" problem gamblers, 51% reported gambling-related offending and 35% had been imprisoned for a crime of this type. Gambling-related offending increased with problem gambling severity. However, only five percent of problem gamblers said their early offending was gambling-related. The large majority reported other types of offending at this time. Few men had sought or received help for gambling problems prior to imprisonment or during their present incarceration. This highlights the potential for assessment and treatment programs in prison to reduce recidivism and adverse effects of problem gambling and gambling-related offending.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Characteristics of gambling and problematic gambling in the Norwegian context: a DSM-IV-based telephone interview study.

The gaming business has increased considerably during the past years, and there are also some indications that the prevalence of pathological gambling has also increased. As it is important to know the problem size and character, an epidemiological study was performed in a representative sample of the Norwegian population (N = 2014; response rate 47.8%). The proportion that never gambled was 31.2%, and a majority (47.2%) gambled sometimes, while 21.0% gambled often. Men (25.5%) gambled more often than women (17.7%). Lotto was the most popular game with 76.0%, followed by football tip (10.8%), slot machines (5.1%), and lotteries (4.9%). For some types of plays, there was a discrepancy between rank for playing, and for problematic playing. Slot machines gave higher problematic playing rank. The mean prevalence of problematic gambling (pathological gambling plus at-risk gambling) was 0.60%, with higher prevalence for those younger and for men. Men 18-30 had a very high prevalence (2.83), compared to men over 30 (0.28%) and females 18-30 (0.84) and over 30 (0.12%). The total problematic gambling frequency was 1.97% for 18-30 years, and 0.1% over 30. There are no problematic gamblers over 50 in the material. The DSM-IV with its only 10 questions gives a conservative estimate of pathological gambling. There were significant correlations between degree of gambling and some established risk factors.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

"If you do not gamble, check this box": perceptions of gambling behaviors.

Most adults in the U.S. have participated in one or more gambling activities. However, many people engage in gambling activities without considering themselves as gamblers. Four hundred and forty-nine university students returned surveys about their participation in gambling activities. After completing a questionnaire recording the style and frequency of gambling participated in, respondents were asked to indicate whether or not they gambled. Results indicated that gamblers participated in twice as many forms of gambling activities as those who classified themselves as non-gamblers. Scratch tickets and lottery tickets were not generally considered gambling unless purchased frequently. Casino visits, bingo, dog races, football pools, golf matches, local poker games, and other card games were more likely to be viewed as gambling, especially when engaged in frequently. Subjects who had gambled on at least one occasion with bookies, dice games, video poker in a bar, dog or cock fights, or off track betting almost always identified themselves as gamblers. It is recommended that further research be conducted to clarify the gambling activities, and frequency of those activities, that influence a person's perceptions of gambling.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Disordered gambling among university-based medical and dental patients: a focus on Internet gambling.

The authors evaluated gambling behaviors, including Internet gambling, among patients seeking free or reduced-cost dental or health care. Three hundred eighty-nine patients at university health clinics completed a questionnaire that included the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS; H. R. Lesieur & S. Blume, 1987). All respondents had gambled in their lifetimes, with 70% gambling in the past 2 months. On the basis of SOGS scores, 10.6% were problem gamblers, and 15.4% were pathological gamblers. The most common forms of gambling were lottery, slot machines, and scratch tickets. Internet gambling was reported by 8.1% of participants. Compared to non-Internet gamblers, Internet gamblers were more likely to be younger, non-Caucasian, and have higher SOGS scores. This study is among the first to evaluate the prevalence of Internet gambling and suggests that people who gamble on the Internet are likely to have a gambling problem. Results also illuminate the need to screen patients seeking health care services for gambling problems.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Gambling and problem gambling among recently sentenced women in new zealand prisons.

Ninety-four recently sentenced women prisoners were interviewed to assess aspects of their gambling involvement, problem gambling and relationships between gambling and criminal offending. A third of the women, on the basis of their SOGS-R scores, were assessed as lifetime probable pathological gamblers and just under a quarter were assessed as probable pathological gamblers during the 6 months prior to imprisonment. For women prisoners, a preference for non-casino gaming machines and housie were predictive of problem gambling. Relative to non-problem gamblers, problem gamblers experienced higher rates of childhood conduct disorder and current non-psychotic mental disorder. Just over a quarter of prisoners and a half of the problem gamblers had committed a crime to obtain money to gamble. Few women said their early offending or convictions related to gambling. It was concluded that most women were "criminals first and problem gamblers second" rather than people whose offending careers commenced as a consequence of problem gambling. However, the extent of problem gambling-related offending among the women prisoners highlights the potential for comprehensive assessment and treatment programs in prison to reduce recidivism and other adverse impacts of problem gambling and gambling-related offending.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Gambling control self-efficacy as a mediator of the effects of low emotional intelligence on problem gambling.

This study investigated whether lower emotional intelligence would be related to less self-efficacy to control gambling and more problem gambling and whether gambling self-efficacy would mediate the relationship between emotional intelligence and problem gambling. A total of 117 participants, including 49 women and 68 men, with an average age of 39.93 (SD = 13.87), completed an emotional intelligence inventory, a gambling control self-efficacy scale, and a measure of problem gambling. Lower emotional intelligence was related to lower gambling self-efficacy and more problem gambling. Gambling control self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between emotional intelligence and problem gambling.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Gambling and pathological gambling among university students.

Students from six colleges and universities in five states in the U.S. (New York, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Texas, and Nevada) were surveyed concerning their gambling behavior and the rate of pathological gambling. Type of gambling varied by state, with students in the northeast and Nevada gambling more than students in Oklahoma and Texas. Over 90% of males and 82% of females had gambled. One third of the males and 15% of females gambled once a week or more. Rates of pathological gambling ranged from 8% in New York to 4% in Nevada. The incidence of pathological gambling was high among males, Hispanics, Asians, and Italian-Americans (compared with among other whites), students with non-traffic arrests, those with parents who have gambling problems, and those who abuse alcohol and other drugs. Pathological gambling was only weakly correlated with age, religion, lower grade point average in school, overeating, living in neighborhoods that are "poorer than most," family income, and parental drug use. It was not correlated with academic year in college, marital status, parental occupation, parental alcohol, and bulimic behavior. The implications of the findings for further research and social policy are discussed.

Achievement↗