Predictors of Problem Gambling in the U.S.

In this article we examine data from a national U.S. adult survey of gambling to determine correlates of problem gambling and discuss them in light of theories of the etiology of problem gambling. These include theories that focus on personality traits, irrational beliefs, anti-social tendencies, neighborhood influences and availability of gambling. Results show that males, persons in the 31–40 age range, blacks, and the least educated had the highest average problem gambling symptoms. Adults who lived in disadvantaged neighborhoods also had the most problem gambling symptoms. Those who attended religious services most often had the fewest problem gambling symptoms, regardless of religious denomination. Respondents who reported that it was most convenient for them to gamble had the highest average problem gambling symptoms, compared to those for whom gambling was less convenient. Likewise, adults with the personality traits of impulsiveness and depression had more problem gambling symptoms than those less impulsive or depressed. Respondents who had friends who approve of gambling had more problem gambling symptoms than those whose friends did not approve of gambling. The results for the demographic variables as well as for impulsiveness and religious attendance are consistent with an anti-social/impulsivist pathway to problem gambling. The results for depression are consistent with an emotionally vulnerable pathway to problem gambling.     

Macau’s Heterotopias: Ruins of St. Paul’s as a Spatial and Temporal Disruption

This article explores and decodes the social experiences of the ruins of St. Paul’s in Macau. The depictions of St. Paul’s as a disruptive social space are elucidated by the concepts of heterotopia, palimpsest and liminality. As a palimpsest, Macau’s ruins comprise a variety of concealed and superimposed semantic layers. One can read the ruins and decipher these semantic tiers. The reading of buildings as palimpsests recognises the paradoxical combination of their durable and transitory nature. St. Paul’s ruins encompass several stratified discourses such as cultural, historical, aesthetic. All of them are deciphered in their multivalent configurations, revealing their overarching heterotopic quality. This article aims to display St. Paul’s ruins as a culturally meaningful urban space of otherness within the ambivalent spatial realm of Macau while unfolding its disruptive nature.     

A Primer on Visualizations for Comparing Populations,Including the Issue of Overlapping Confidence Intervals

In comparing a collection of K populations, it is common practice to display in one visualization confidence intervals for the corresponding population parameters θ₁, θ₂, …, θ_K. For a pair of confidence intervals that do (or do not) overlap, viewers of the visualization are cognitively compelled to declare that there is not (or there is) a statistically significant difference between the two corresponding population parameters. It is generally well known that the method of examining overlap of pairs of confidence intervals should not be used for formal hypothesis testing. However, use of a single visualization with overlapping and nonoverlapping confidence intervals leads many to draw such conclusions, despite the best efforts of statisticians toward preventing users from reaching such conclusions. In this article, we summarize some alternative visualizations from the literature that can be used to properly test equality between a pair of population parameters. We recommend that these visualizations be used with caution to avoid incorrect statistical inference. The methods presented require only that we have K sample estimates and their associated standard errors. We also assume that the sample estimators are independent, unbiased, and normally distributed.     

Gambling participation in the U.S.--results from a national survey

Demographic patterns of gambling participation in the U.S. were examined. A national telephone survey was conducted with 2,630 representative U.S. residents aged 18 or older. The sample as weighted for analysis was 48% male, 12% black, and 11% Hispanic. Respondents were questioned on 15 types of gambling: how often they played and how much they won or lost. Eighty-two percent gambled in the past year. Lottery was the most commonly played game, while casino gambling accounted for the largest extent of gambling involvement. Men and women were equally likely to gamble in the past year, but men gambled more frequently and had larger wins and losses, particularly on sports betting and games of skill. Blacks were less likely to have gambled in the past year, but blacks who gambled did so more heavily than other racial groups. Blacks and Hispanics were more likely than average to be pathological gamblers. The rate of past year gambling declined with age, but extent of gambling involvement among gamblers did not vary with age. Rates of participation in most forms of gambling increased with socioeconomic status, but higher socioeconomic status gamblers had lower rates of pathological gambling, and lower extent of gambling involvement, particularly for lottery. New Englanders gambled more heavily than other Americans. Comparison with past studies showed an increase in overall gambling participation in the U.S., and large increases in rates of participation in lottery and casino gambling.     

Victimization, Psychological Distress and Subsequent Offending Among Youth

The current study examined the relationship between the victimization of youth, psychological distress and subsequent offending. It examined whether direct and vicarious victimization by exposure to violence in the family, among peers, and in the neighborhood, significantly predicted psychological distress among study participants and whether psychological distress significantly predicted subsequent offending over time. In addition, it examined the extent (if any) to which psychological distress mediated the relationship between victimization and subsequent offending. Method: study data are from wave 1 and wave 2 of the Buffalo Longitudinal Study of Young Men (BLSYM), a population based sample (n = 625) of young men, ages 16-19 years old in a metropolitan area of Buffalo, New York. A path analytic approach was used for the main analyses. Findings: personal, vicarious victimization by exposure to violence among peers, and perception of neighborhood safety were significant predictors of offending at wave 1. Personal and property victimization was significant predictors of psychological distress. Psychological distress did not have a significant relationship with offending at wave 1 yet, it did at wave 2. Vicarious victimization by exposure to violence among peers and offending at wave 1 were all significant predictors of offending at wave 2. The results highlight the need to respond to both direct and vicarious victimization among young males to reduce psychological distress and subsequent offending.     

The Relationship Between Distance from Gambling Venues and Gambling Participation and Problem Gambling Among U.S. Adults

In this article we examine the relationship between extent of gambling for U.S. adults and the distance from their residence to the nearest casino or track. We employ data from a telephone survey of U.S. adults conducted in 2011–2013. The chances that the respondents gambled in the past year, were frequent gamblers, or were problem gamblers were greater if they lived close to a casino. The chances that the respondents gambled in the past year or were frequent gamblers were greater if they lived close to a horse or dog track. The effects of closeness to a casino on the likelihood of past-year gambling, frequent gambling, and problem gambling, as well as the effect of closeness to a track on past-year gambling, extended to about 30 miles from the respondent’s home. In addition, the concentration of casinos within 30 miles of the respondent’s home was positively related to the respondents’ chance of being a frequent or problem gambler. If a respondent had no casinos within 30 miles, he or she had a 2.7 % chance of being a problem gambler; if one casino, a 3.9 % chance; if six or more, a 6.2 % chance. The authors estimate that at least part of this effect is causal.     

The Relationship of Ecological and Geographic Factors to Gambling Behavior and Pathology

The current study examined the effect of neighborhood disadvantage and gambling availability on gambling participation and pathology. A national telephone survey included 2631 US adults. Census data was used to characterize the respondents neighborhood, and the distance from the respondents home to gambling facilities was calculated. Logistic and linear regressions were performed to predict gambling participation and pathology. Results showed that the neighborhood disadvantage was positively related to frequency of gambling and problem/pathological gambling. The presence of a casino within 10miles of the respondents home was positively related to problem/pathological gambling. The permissiveness of gambling laws was positively related to any gambling in the past year, as well as frequent gambling. These results were interpreted to mean that the ecology of disadvantaged neighborhoods promotes gambling pathology, and that availability of gambling opportunities promotes gambling participation and pathology.     

Barriers in Access to the Treatment for People with Gambling Disorders. Are They Different from Those Experienced by People with Alcohol and/or Drug Dependence?

A prevalence of gambling disorders is diversified depending on the region of the world. Almost three quarters of pathological gamblers had never sought a professional treatment as well as an assistance in self-help groups. Reasons why they do not initiate a treatment are complex. The aim of the article is to compare barriers to the treatment for people with gambling disorders found in presented study and barriers to alcohol and drug treatment identified in the available literature. The semi structured interviews were applied and conducted with people with gambling disorders, social workers, therapists employed in the addiction treatment facilities, General Practitioners and psychiatrists. Selection of the respondents was based on purposive sampling. In total, 90 interviews were completed. Respondents identified individual barriers as well as structural ones. Individual barriers include internal resistance and a fear of the treatment. In turn structural barriers apply to the organization of the therapy, infrastructure, personnel, and the therapeutic program. A comparison of barriers experienced by people with gambling disorders and substance use disorders showed that they are largely similar, but people with gambling disorders also experience specific barriers. Empirical studies focused specifically on treatment needs of people experiencing gambling disorders may improve an offer of help for them. More adequate treatment options could contribute to the increasing in the number of people who start the treatment. It can result in improving their quality of life and may have positive impact on public health.     

The Relationship Between the Number of Types of Legal Gambling and the Rates of Gambling Behaviors and Problems Across U.S. States

In this article, we examine the relationship between the total number of types of gambling that are legal in a state and the gambling involvement of state residents. Of particular interest is whether more types of legal gambling are associated with higher rates of problem gambling. Telephone surveys of U.S. adults were conducted in 1999–2000 and 2011–2013. The same questions were used and the data sets were combined for most of the analyses. Gambling exposure was defined as the sum of the number of years that all types were legal. Results tabulated by state showed progressively higher rates of problem gambling, frequent gambling and any past year gambling as the number of legal types of gambling increased. Holding constant the number of legal types, problem gambling rates increased as exposure increased. States with longer exposure to legal lotteries or casinos tended to have higher rates of problem gambling. An analysis was also conducted in which the data sets from 1999 to 2000 and from 2011 to 2013 were compared. Among the states, there was a striking positive relationship between changes in the number of legal types of gambling between the two studies and changes in rates of frequent gambling between the two studies. For states that had fewer types of legal gambling in 2011 than in 1999, the rates of frequent gambling went down. For states that increased their types of legal gambling, rates of frequent gambling typically, but not always, went up. Possible explanations for these results were discussed.