Psychological characteristics of volunteers in studies on gambling

Advertisements were published in local newspapers asking for volunteers to participate in a study on gambling. A battery of eleven questionnaires was mailed to the subjects assessing pathological gambling behavior, sociodemographic characteristics, motivation to gamble, erroneous perceptions about g...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of gambling studies Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 69 - 84
Main Authors LADOUCEUR, R, ARSENAULT, C, DUBE, D, FREESTON, M. H, JACQUES, C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Secaucus, NJ Springer 1997
Subjects
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Biological and medical sciences
Gambling
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Psychological aspects
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Volunteers
Human
Pathological gambling
Participation
Cognitive disorder
Impulse control disorder
Volunteering
Methodology
Social interaction
Scientific research
Mental disorder
Sampling
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Summary:Advertisements were published in local newspapers asking for volunteers to participate in a study on gambling. A battery of eleven questionnaires was mailed to the subjects assessing pathological gambling behavior, sociodemographic characteristics, motivation to gamble, erroneous perceptions about gambling, superstitious beliefs, depressive symptoms, social anxiety and avoidance, alcohol and drug abuse, problem-solving skills, and marital satisfaction. Subjects received $10 when they returned the questionnaires fully completed. Response rate was over 95%. Surprisingly, 29% of the respondents met the criterion for probable pathological gambling (score of 5 or more on the SOGS) and a further 16% were identified as potential pathological gamblers (scores of 3 or 4). The potential and probable pathological gamblers showed significant differences on motivational and cognitive variables related to gambling compared to those subjects who showed no signs of pathological gambling. The probable pathological gamblers reported significantly more signs of poor psychosocial functioning than the other two groups, including depressive symptoms, poor problem orientation, drug and alcohol abuse, and interpersonal conflict. The practical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.
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ISSN:1050-5350
1573-3602
DOI:10.1023/A:1024991300084