How gambling harms the wellbeing of family and others: a review

Problem Gambling and Suicidal Behaviours in Young Adult men in Ghana: A Moderated Mediation Model of Psychological Distress and Social Support : Journal of Gambling Studies

Problem gambling has been recognised as an important public health issue because of its harmful consequences at the personal, interpersonal, and societal levels. There is a proliferation of gambling activities in Ghana owing to increased access to the internet, soaring smartphone penetration, and an influx of sports betting companies. Yet, very little research has addressed the harm associated with problem gambling in Ghana. This study assessed if the effect of problem gambling severity on suicidal behaviours (ideation, planning, and attempts) through psychological distress is contingent on the level of perceived social support. A total of 350 young adult men in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana provided the data for the current analysis. The data were analysed using a moderated mediation approach. The results showed that psychological distress is an important intervening mechanism through which problem gambling severity influences suicidality. In addition, the positive association between psychological distress and suicidal behaviours was found to be conditional on the levels of perceived social support. In other words, our results showed that problem gambling may first trigger episodes of psychological distress, which, in turn, can lead to suicidality among problem gamblers who report low to moderate levels of perceived social support. Our findings suggest that young adult problem gamblers require higher levels of social support from family, friends, and significant others to prevent those experiencing psychological distress from engaging in suicidal behaviours.

Harms from Other People's Gambling: Associations with an Individual's Own Gambling Behaviours, Health Risk Behaviours, Financial Problems, General Health, and Mental Wellbeing

This study aimed to explore relationships between being an 'affected other' (AO) and an individual's own gambling, health risk behaviours, financial problems, poor general health, and low mental wellbeing. A cross-sectional survey using representative and supplementary convenience samples was undertaken with 1234 residents of a British Island aged 16 + years. Being an AO was measured as having a partner or relative who has been gambling regularly in the past 12 months. PGSI was used to assess gambling severity. Health risk behaviours included: poor diet, low physical activity, daily smoking, and binge drinking. Other measures included experiencing financial problems, poor general health, and low mental wellbeing. Analyses were performed using χ2 and binary logistic regressions. 11.0% of participants were AOs. AOs were more likely to gamble at at-risk/problem-gambling levels and experience financial problems compared to those who were not affected others. The significant relationship between being an AO and low mental wellbeing was mediated by experiencing financial problems. The relationship between being an AO and engaging in two or more health risk behaviours was no longer significant after controlling for sociodemographics and an individual's own gambling. The relationship between being an AO and poor general health was no longer significant after controlling for sociodemographics, health risk behaviours and an individual's own gambling. AOs experienced risks to health and wellbeing, with findings not limited to AOs specifically with a relationship to an individual with problem-gambling. Therefore, support for AOs should be more widely available, aiming to address AOs' needs holistically.

Poor school performance and gambling among adolescents: Can the association be moderated by conditions in school?

Introduction

Protective factors of adolescent gambling at the school level and their buffering potential are scarcely explored in prior research. This study aims to examine the protective possibility of low student-teacher ratio on youth gambling, both directly and by moderating the effect of low school performance.

Methods

Data were derived from the 2016 Stockholm school survey, collected among 5,221 grade 11 students (∼17-18 years) in 46 schools, with information on schools' composition and student-teacher ratio obtained through registers. Gambling and risk gambling were coded as binary variables. School performance was captured by self-reported marks in three core subjects, dichotomised into average/above average and below average, respectively. Student-teacher ratio was used both as a continuous and trichotomised variable. Two-level binary logistic regression analyses were performed.

Results

A below average school performance was associated with gambling and risk gambling but the association with gambling was only statistically significant at the 10%-level in the fully adjusted model. Student-teacher ratio was not directly associated with gambling and risk gambling but moderated the associations between school performance and both gambling and risk gambling, as these relationships were less pronounced in schools with a low student-teacher ratio.

Conclusions

In sum, a low student-teacher ratio may protect students from gambling and risk gambling by buffering against the adverse effects of other risk factors, such as poor school performance. These findings suggest that a higher teacher density in upper secondary schools can be beneficial beyond school matters by positively influencing student behaviour outside of school.

How gambling problems relate to health and wellbeing in Australian households: Evidence from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics of Australia Survey

Gambling harms can impact the health and wellbeing of both individuals who gamble and those close to them. While harms occur across a spectrum of gambling risk levels, most research is conducted on people close to those gamblers who have severe problems. This study examined the health and wellbeing of people living with gamblers across the entire spectrum of gambling risk levels, via secondary analysis of the nationally-representative Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (HILDA). The subsample of interest comprised 13,698 respondents without a gambling problem of their own, aged between 15 and 84, and who lived in households where all residents completed the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). Health and wellbeing were measured via the SF-6D, the SF-36, and subjective wellbeing measures. Compared to those living in non-problem gambling households, participants living in problem-gambling households reported significantly lower mean SF-6D scores, lower scores on the SF-36 mental health domain, and significantly less satisfaction with both their financial situation and with feeling part of their local community. Participants living in moderate-risk gambling households also reported less satisfaction with their financial situation than those in non-problem gambling households. Conclusions: The results indicate that measurable impacts to the health and wellbeing of those living with gamblers occur predominantly at the more severe end of the risk level spectrum, except for financial dissatisfaction, which is also evident in those residing with gamblers categorised as moderate-risk.

Legacy Gambling Harms: What Happens Once the Gambling Stops?

Purpose of Review

Legacy gambling harm refers to adverse consequences that extend past the period where people are actively gambling at harmful levels. These harms can affect the gambler, people close to them and the wider community. This article reviews current research that investigates legacy harms; the types of legacy harm, how long they last and whether evidence suggests these harms are real or instead imagined injuries or reflections on past regrets.

Recent Findings

Legacy harms to individuals can be broadly categorised as including financial, relationship, emotional/psychological, health, culture, work/study and criminal/deviance harms. In addition, legacy harms affect entire communities by drawing funds and social capital away from vulnerable communities, leaving them socially, culturally and materially impoverished. Most legacy harms that accrue to gamblers have a half-life of 4 years, although financial harms last somewhat longer at 5 years. Greater distance in time from a past gambling issue is reliably and positively related to health and well-being indicators, including the Health Utility Index and the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index, which suggests that legacy gambling harms are real and have a lasting impact on well-being, rather than just imagined hardship from prior gambling difficulties.

Summary

These findings suggest programme and policy development to support gamblers in reducing and managing their legacy harms, rather than focusing only on relapse prevention.

Perceived Gambling Availability and Adolescent Gambling Behavior: the Moderating Role of Self-Efficacy

Geographic accessibility has been linked to gambling behavior, but little is known about whether the perception of gambling availability in both offline and online venues is prospectively associated with adolescent gambling behavior. Further, relatively few studies have analyzed the interaction between environmental and individual factors in explaining adolescent gambling and problem gambling. This prospective study examined the association between perceived gambling availability, gambling frequency, and problem gambling among 554 adolescents aged 13–17 years (mean = 15.1, female 47.4%) and explored the moderating role of self-efficacy to control gambling in these associations. Participants completed assessments of perceived gambling availability and gambling self-efficacy at baseline. Gambling frequency and problem gambling were measured at follow-up. Two separate hierarchical regression models were applied to analyze the relationship of perceived gambling availability with gambling behavior and the moderating role of gambling self-efficacy. Results showed that a greater perception of gambling availability was associated with a higher gambling frequency and more problem gambling in adolescents. The impact of perceived gambling availability on gambling frequency and problem gambling was lower among participants with moderate gambling self-efficacy in comparison with participants with low gambling self-efficacy. In those adolescents with high self-efficacy to control gambling, perceived gambling availability was not associated either with gambling frequency or problem gambling. These results suggest the usefulness of implementing regulatory policies aimed at reducing gambling availability in adolescents, and the design of preventative interventions aimed at enhancing self-efficacy to control gambling.