Winning Exposure and Positive Illusions Among Chinese Lottery Gamblers: Moderating Effects of Lottery Winning Experience and Socioeconomic Status

Positive illusions and winning exposure are key factors leading to problem lottery gambling, but few studies have examined the relationships between them. 402 Chinese lottery gamblers was conducted with the Winning Exposure Questionnaire, the Positive illusion Questionnaire, the Winning Experience Questionnaire, and the Social and Economic Status Questionnaire to investigate the relationship between winning exposure and positive illusions as well as the moderating role of winning experience and socioeconomic status. The results showed that winning exposure can significantly and positively predict the positive illusions (optimism bias, better than average bias, and illusion of control) of lottery gamblers. The highest winning amount and subjective socioeconomic status significantly moderated the relationship between winning exposure and optimism bias. That was to say, for lottery gamblers with smaller maximum winning amount and lower subjective socioeconomic status, the association between winning exposure and optimism bias was stronger. Furthermore, the moderating effect of highest winning amount in the relationship between winning exposure and better than average bias, and the moderating effects of occupational status and subjective socioeconomic status in the relationship between winning exposure and illusion of control were marginally significant.

Economic violence against women: A case in Turkey

The aim of this study was to determine the factors affecting the exposure of women in the 15–59 age group in Turkey to economic violence by their husbands/partners. The micro data set of the National Research on Domestic Violence against Women in Turkey, which was conducted by the Hacettepe University Institute of Population Studies, was employed in this study. The factors affecting women’s exposure to economic violence were determined using the binary logistic regression analysis. In the study, women in the 15–24, 25–34 and 35–44 age group had a higher ratio of exposure to economic violence compared to the reference group. Women who graduated from elementary school, secondary school, and high school had a higher ratio of exposure to economic violence compared to those who have never gone to school. Women’s exposure to physical, sexual and verbal violence was also important factor affecting women’s exposure to economic violence. The results obtained in this study are important in that they can be a source of information for establishing policies and programs to prevent violence against women. This study can also be a significant guide in determining priority areas for the resolution of economic violence against women.

The potential impact of an anti-stigma intervention on mental health help-seeking attitudes among university students

BACKGROUND

The reluctance of young adults to seek mental health treatment has been attributed to poor mental health literacy, stigma, preference for self-reliance and concerns about confidentiality. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential impact of an anti-stigma intervention that includes education about depression, information about help-seeking as well as contact with a person with lived experience, on help seeking attitudes.

METHODS

A pre-post study design was employed. Changes in help-seeking attitudes were measured using the Inventory of Attitudes towards Seeking Mental Health Services (IASMHS) immediately post-intervention and after 3 months. Sociodemographic data, information on past experiences in the mental health field and contact with people with mental illness were collated. Three hundred ninety university students enrolled in the study. Linear mixed models were used to examine the effects of the intervention.

RESULTS

Scores on all subscales of the IASMHS, Psychological Openness (PO), Help-seeking Propensity (HP) and Indifference to Stigma improved significantly post-intervention and at 3-month follow-up compared to pre-intervention, with HP demonstrating the highest effect size. However, a significant decline was observed on all three scales at 3-month follow-up compared to post-intervention. Gender, having friends/family with mental illness, and previous experience in the mental health field moderated the intervention effects for the PO and HP subscales.

CONCLUSION

The study showed that the brief anti-stigma intervention was associated with improvements in help-seeking attitudes among university students with differential effects among certain sub-groups. As the beneficial outcomes appeared to decrease over time, booster sessions or opportunities to participate in mental health-related activities post-intervention may be required to maintain the desired changes in help-seeking attitudes.

Problem Gambling in Greece: Prevalence and Risk Factors During the Financial Crisis

In Greece no study has ever been conducted on the prevalence of problem gambling. Therefore, a cross-sectional survey was carried out amid the recession aiming to (1) estimate past year prevalence of problem gambling, (2) explore socio-economic and demographic differences among gamblers and non gamblers, (3) explore socio-economic and demographic differences among gamblers who started gambling prior and during the downturn and (4) identify its risk factors with a special interest in the influence of the recession. To this end, data emanating from a telephone and patron survey were combined. A random and representative sample of 3.404 people participated in the telephone survey and 2.400 in the patron survey. The interview schedule was the same in both studies. The presence of problem gambling was assessed with the Canadian Problem Gambling Index. Information on participants' socio-economic and demographic characteristics as well as their ways of dealing financially with the crisis were collected. Findings indicated that 2.4% of respondents met criteria for problem gambling. Male gender, minority status, living with family of origin, low educational level and low to zero income were found to constitute the risk factors of the disorder. Moreover, having started gambling during the recession increased the odds of suffering from problem gambling; however this finding was gender-specific. Thus, people end up in problem gambling through various pathways, with these trajectories being different for men and women. Any intervention should address the complexity of the issue and be tailored by gender.

Cross-Cultural Measurement Invariance of Scales Assessing Stigma and Attitude to Seeking Professional Psychological Help

There has been a growing interest in research on stigma and attitude toward psychotherapy, and these variables are expected to show cross-cultural variations. The Stigma Scale for Receiving Psychological Help (SSRPH), the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help (SSOSH) and the Inventory of Attitudes to Seeking Mental Health Services (IASMHS) are widely used and this study examined their measurement invariance as this is a prerequisite for use in cross-cultural studies. Data were collected online from groups of Chinese students in China (n = 413) and German students in Germany (n = 416). Confirmatory factor analyses in single samples and measurement invariance testing in a multi-group framework were conducted to test the cross-group equivalence. Findings demonstrate that the SSRPH and the modified model of IASMHS had partial scalar measurement invariance, but the SSOSH showed cultural variance in factor structure. Comparisons of latent means indicated no differences between the two groups with respect to the social stigma attached to professional psychological help, but a higher psychological openness of Chinese students toward help-seeking. Findings are discussed from intercultural and methodological perspectives. In the future, intercultural cooperation should be promoted in order to develop a cross-culturally valid concept of stigma against psychological help that could be used as the basis for intercultural comparison and developing interventions to reduce stigma.

Comorbid physical and mental illnesses among pathological gamblers: Results from a population based study in Singapore

The aim of the current study was to examine the comorbidity of pathological gambling with other mental and physical disorders as well as to examine health related quality of life perceived by those with pathological gambling using data from a community survey in Singapore. All respondents were administered the South Oaks Gambling Screen to screen for pathological gambling. The diagnosis of mental disorders was established using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview; while chronic physical conditions were established using a checklist. The weighted lifetime prevalence of pathological gambling was 2.7%. After multiple logistic regression, age 18-34 years (OR=5.3, 95% CI=1.6-17.4), male gender (OR=7.8, CI=3.8-16.2), widowhood (OR=4.2, 95% CI=1.02-17.5), and those with pre-primary (OR=17.1, CI=4.9-59.1), primary (OR=5.3, CI=1.7-16.6), and secondary education (OR=6, CI=2.5-14.7) had significantly higher odds of having pathological gambling. Those of Malay (OR=0.1, 95% CI=0.07-0.2) and Indian ethnicity (OR=0.2, 95% CI=0.1-0.3) had significantly lower odds of having pathological gambling compared to those of Chinese ethnicity. Pathological gamblers had significantly higher odds of having comorbid mental and physical disorders than non-gamblers/non-problem gamblers. The significant association of comorbid mental and physical disorders among those with pathological gambling indicates a need to screen for these disorders and for their subsequent treatment.

Gender Differences in Risk Aversion Among Chinese University Students

This paper examines gender differences in risk aversion among Chinese university students. Chinese females are proposed to be more risk averse and require a higher risk premium when faced with a gamble option in the gain-domain frame as compared to Chinese males. Two groups of 100 participants each (male = 100 and female = 100 in total) were recruited to fill up questionnaires that included items relating to objective probability lotteries. Within each group, it was found that Chinese males and females did not differ in their risk aversion. However, results show that Chinese males tend to react more readily to rising risk premium by taking up options with higher expected values when compared to Chinese females. Current findings will have useful implications to marketers (particularly, promoters of gambling products) and problem gambling counselors.

Gratitude, hope, mindfulness and personal-growth initiative: buffers or risk factors for problem gambling?

The majority of prevention and intervention research in problem gambling (PG) has focused on identifying negative risk factors. However, not all at-risk individuals go on to develop anticipated disorders and many thrive in spite of them. In healthcare settings, PG and other disorders are typically conceptualized from the biomedical perspective that frame disorders as something negative residing within the individual and reduction in negativity is seen as success. Indeed, this problem-focused conceptualization may be adequate in many cases as reducing PG behaviour is undoubtedly an important outcome, but the focus on negativity alone is too narrow to capture the complexity of human behaviour. Hence, this study attempts to bridge the gap in literature by providing an evaluation of the predictive ability of the positive dispositions on problem gambling severity, gambling-related cognitions, and gambling urges. The positive psychological dispositions examined were curiosity, gratitude, hope, personal growth initiative, and mindfulness. Participants consisted of 801 Taiwanese Chinese students and community individuals (Mean age = 25.36 years). Higher levels of gratitude and hope have been found to predict lower PG, gambling-related cognitions, or gambling urges. Meanwhile, higher mindfulness predicted lower PG, but only among Chinese males. However, lower personal growth initiative predicted lower PG, gambling-related cognitions, and gambling urges. These analyses have small to medium effect sizes with significant predictions. Findings of this study have essential implications in understanding and treating Chinese problem gamblers. These positive dispositions should be addressed by mental health professionals in preventative and treatment programs among Chinese individuals. Further implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The experience of recovering gamblers in Malaysia: a phenomenological study

Understanding the problem gambling recovery process is essential in the development of effective prevention and treatment programs. Existing empirical studies have examined the determinants and treatment of gambling behaviour but little research has investigated the experiences of Asian gamblers and their perceptions of gambling impact on family and significant others. This study utilizes a phenomenological approach to examine the experiences of ten gamblers who were enrolled in a gambling recovery program. Data analyses on qualitative interview sessions revealed four main themes comprising meaning of gambling, beliefs about gambling, perception of themselves (gamblers), family and significant others, and factors associated with the cessation of gambling behaviour. Within each theme, there are interrelated sub-themes that will be discussed within the study. In sum, the common factors that were evident are the importance of the gambler’s motivation to quit gambling and also their family’s support in the recovery process. Suggestions and implications for treatment and recovery are discussed.

Why People Gamble: A Qualitative Study of Four New Zealand Ethnic Groups

In multicultural countries such as New Zealand, it is particularly important that gambling research take into account possible cultural differences. Many New Zealanders come from cultures that do not have a history of gambling, including the Mäori (New Zealand indigenous people), Pacific Islanders, and recent migrants. Little research has examined the reasons why people start and continue to gamble, especially among different ethnic groups. This research project thus aimed to develop a framework to explain how environmental, cultural, and social factors interact with personal attributes to determine gambling behaviors. In a qualitative study, 131 people broadly representative of Mäori, Pacific, Asian, and Päkehä/New Zealand European groups residing in New Zealand were interviewed individually or in focus groups. They included social and problem gamblers, families of problem gamblers, and professionals. Different personal, socioeconomic, environmental, and cultural factors were identified, summarized in a developmental framework, and compared to factors found for ethnic groups in other countries. Public health policy issues were raised, including greater control of gambling promotion.