GENDER DIFFERENCES IN AUSTRALIAN GAMBLING: A CRITICAL SUMMARY OF SOCIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Despite frequent reports on the significant increase in the number of women gambling in Australia, there has been relatively little detailed research undertaken to address the issue. This paper provides a critical summary of recent Australian findings and their implications for future research and clinical interventions. Its conclusion is that while gender is a strong predictor of preferences for gambling activities, more carefully designed studies must be conducted to determine whether gender influences other facets of gambling behaviour. This is principally because of the difficulty associated with accounting for the confounding effects of gender and activity preferences and the omission of male comparison groups in some gender studies.