Gambling
An Annotated Bibliography
Edited by Wesley Pack and Tyler Jarvis
with contributions by Micah Allred, Leah Brown, Daniel Butler, Amber Clawson, Mark Creer, Scott Hollingshaus, Eric Lewis, Brandon Mackay, Mikey Peers, and Christopher Rees.
Social Problems Related to Gambling
Economics of Gambling
Logical Fallacies and Systems for Winning
A laboratory-based investigation of
relations among video lottery terminal (VLT) play, negative mood, and alcohol
consumption in regular VLT players.
Addictive Behaviors 27(2002)
819-835
The
authors present a very detailed report of a controlled test to ascertain the
tendency for people involved in VLT to also drink alcohol, and to see how this
affected their mood. The
participants were chosen from a group of people who responded to a newspaper
advertisement that solicited gamblers who played VLT at least once a month for
the past three months. These
people were divided into a movie-watching control group and a gambling group,
then analyzed as they both pursued their respective activities in the same
bar-like environment. The results
clearly indicated that those who participated in VLT were more likely to
consume alcoholic drinks, and that, contrary to commonly reported data, the
subjects who drank and gambled were more dysphoric than the control group (it
had commonly been reported by gamblers that gambling and drinking were
relaxing). It was also reported
that those who drank and gambled lost more money than those who just gambled.
They
seemed to have been very careful in their statistical procedures, and cautious
about drawing too strong conclusions.
It was pointed out that this correlation could be useful for counselors
of pathological gamblers (it shows a tendency for one addictive behavior to act
as a trigger for another), and for those involved with casino regulation (where
a looser drinking policy could likely increase gambling revenues). MICAH ALLRED
Quinn, Frank L. (2001). First Do No Harm: What Could be
Done by Casinos to Limit Pathological Gambling. Managerial and Decision Economics, 22, 133-142.
Quinn
presents a list of suggestions of steps casinos could take that may prevent
current and future gamblers from becoming pathological gamblers in need of
professional help. The list he has
does provide some potentially good ideas, but are, for the most part, poorly
supported, impossible to implement, and at times contradictory. He proposes methods for decreasing the
length of play, limiting the jackpots, eliminating stimulus, as well as the
accessibility to gambling institutions as a few of the possibilities.
The
paper was difficult to take seriously as a result of the impossibility of its
proposals and the rampant logical fallacies and plays on emotion. He begins his arguments with a story
about a mother who, (at the mercy of the casino), was unable to leave slot
machine for 9 hours while her newborn baby, left outside in the car, died of
dehydration. Virtually all of his
suggestions are simply stated without any real explanation of the underlying
research or theory. For example,
he espouses a regulation that requires casinos to be located away from
population centers as resorts, since a majority of problematic gamblers live
close to casinos. They should also
reduce their hours of operation, make everyone quit for five minutes an hour,
make people stand (rather than sit at slot/virtual poker machines), and prevent
casinos from being opulent or offering anything other than gambling.
If
this wasn't bad enough, he later contradicts himself saying that casinos could
be as lavish as they wish, and seems to infer that they will both less
profitable and better off at the same time. He deduces from Alabama's failure to establish a lottery,
and South Carolina's opposition to video poker, as justification for the
statement that the feeling against gambling is changing. He adds arguments in his conclusion
that weren't addressed in the paper and are equally poorly supported. MICAH ALLRED
Sellman, J.D., Adamson, S., Robertson,
P., Sullivan, S., & Coverdale, J. (2002). Gambling in mid–moderate alcohol–dependent outpatients. Substance
Use and Misuse, 37(2), 199-213.
This
article deals with the relation that exists between
problem gambling,
And
mild to moderate alcohol dependence.
In terms of actual data and research, the article is very
informative. The project appears
to be very objective, well founded, and free from radical variables.
The
study, involving 124 New Zealand outpatients, monitored their gambling habits
for a period of 6 months. A
computer and an analytical team analyzed the survey and determined the
frequency of "problem gambling" and pathological gambling among those
tested. The results showed that
gambling frequency among those tested was roughly equivalent to the national
averages recorded in previous research, however, the frequencies of "problem
gambling" and pathological gambling were considerably higher. The study found the frequency of
pathological gambling to be three to four times the nation average while that
of "problem gambling" was ten times the average. However, the article tries to reach beyond its potential in
the Discussion section. Here the
authors present several possible treatment possibilities for their alcohol
dependent gamblers. The foundation
of these suggestions is not nearly as strong as that of the research data. The authors should have left this part
out, and so should the reader. SCOTT
HOLLINGSHAUS
Grant, J.E., &
Kim, S.W. (2002). Gender
differences in pathological gamblers seeking medication treatment. Comprehensive
Psychiatry, 43(1), 56-62.
This
article focuses on the differences that exist between men and women who are
seeking treatment for pathological gambling problems. Although not a major study it does provide insight into the
psychological differences between the two sexes with respect to gambling and
their responses to treatment.
However, the study seems to only apply to those people who seek help for
their problems, which is the minority of all pathological gamblers.
Through
surveys, this study compares the gambling habits and treatment reactions of 127
men and women ranging from the ages of 18 to 65. Contrary to previous studies, this article finds that there
are very few differences between the two sexes. The study found that the only significant differences are in
the average age of those exhibiting gambling problems and in reasons for which
they gamble. The study also looks
at the family histories of those involved. It uses this information to see if family pressure is a
notable influence in the gamblers' behavior. Finally, the study analyzes the treatment histories of the
participants. Because all of the
participants were currently seeking treatment at the time, this section
provides useful data. The authors
note that most pathological gamblers do not seek treatment, thus lowering the
probability that data acquired in terms of family history and demographics are
a true representation of all pathological gamblers. SCOTT HOLLINGSHAUS
Petry, N.M., & Oncken, C. (2002).
Cigarette smoking is associated with increased severity of gambling problems in
treatment-seeking gamblers. Addiction, 97, 745-753.
This
study is one of the first major studies of the relationship between smoking and
gambling addiction, providing some valuable insights. The researchers present a well thought-out study making
considerable effort to eliminate any unknown factors from their data. It gives strong evidences for a
connection between the two addictions, showing that pathological gamblers are
more likely to be smokers than the average person is.
The
study involved over 300 people from Connecticut who were seeking treatment for
gambling problems. The study
adequately screened all involved in order to ensure good data. The participants completed surveys
questioning them about their gambling and smoking habits. The study found that a considerably
larger percentage of the pathological gamblers were smokers than the state
average. However, one relevant
weakness is the fact that only three questions determined whether a person was
a smoker or not. The study also
compares the gambling habits of those involved and their experiences with
illicit drugs, problematic families, and other social problems. As an aid for the reader, the article
provides a good table of the data, thus allowing him or her to concentrate on
those areas of most interest. SCOTT HOLLINGSHAUS
Hall, M.N., & Shaffer, H.J. (2002).
The natural history of gambling and drinking problems among casino employees. The
Journal of Social Psychology, 142(2), 405-434.
This
study is a longitudinal study in response to a popularly held notion that
disordered gambling is always progressive. Although the researchers try to create a strong data sample,
they admit that their results are subject to major error. It is possible that their results are a
true interpretation of the gambling population; however, a reader would be
taking a very grave risk in accepting their results as such.
Given
an eligible population of 9,943 casino employees, this study uses two surveys,
CAGE and SOGS, to map their gambling and drinking habits over a period of two
years. Because of large turnovers
in casino employment, the number of participants constantly lessens throughout
the study, starting with 6,067 and ending with 1,176. Using the surveys, the researchers divided the participants
into one of three possible levels of gambling and drinking activity. Each year they repeated the surveys and
mapped the movement of the participants from level to level. The prediction was that over time, more
of the participants would move to higher levels; however, the data show the
opposite to be true. Admittedly,
the data are questionable in their validity. One such question discussed in the article is that casino
employees, although constantly surrounded by gambling, probably do not
represent the normal gambling population.
That aside, however, the data is sufficient to make one question the
popularly held notion that gambling is a progressive disorder. SCOTT HOLLINGSHAUS
Pasternak, A.V. (1997). Pathologic
gambling: America's newest addiction?. American Family Physician, 56(5),
1293-4.
This
article reviews the history and growth of legalized gambling in America and the
spread of pathological gambling that has followed. It is not a new study; rather it presents facts gathered in
previous research. It also
analyzes the development of indicator tests and the history of pathological
gambling treatment methods.
Overall, it is a very good introduction into the symptoms of problem
gambling and the methods used to detect it.
After
a brief introduction into the universality of the gambling institution, the
author addresses the symptoms of pathological gamblers. He explains and provides examples of
the different diagnosis tools (including a copy of the ten diagnostic criteria)
that doctors use in order to identify gambling problems in a patient. He also notes the high probability of
false-positive results in the different tests. The article then goes on to explain the typical path of the
problem gambler and the dangers that he presents to his family and
himself. It seems that many
factors affect addiction. The
games that "pay off" more often tend to be more addictive. The author also provides some
information as to the demographic breakdown of pathological gamblers. Age, sex, and social status are all
factors that determine susceptibility to addiction. These differences also aid in the selection of treatment
possibilities. Different
treatments, including drugs and counseling, appear to work for different
patients. Finally, the article
provides contact information for those who need more information with respect
to pathological gambling. SCOTT HOLLINGSHAUS
Petry, N.M. (2000). Psychiatric symptoms
in problem gambling and non-problem gambling substance abusers. The American
Journal on Addictions, 9, 163-171.
This
study analyzes the psychiatric differences between substance abusers who are
probable pathological gamblers and substance abusers who are not. Although the study is admittedly
subject to considerable error, it does provide some useful information as to
this psychiatric relationship.
Contrary to other previous studies, this study concludes that there is
no significant difference between the two studied groups.
The
study involves a sample of 103 substance abusing individuals who responded to a
newspaper ad. Because HIV and
other medical problems are known to contribute to psychiatric disorders, a
preliminary screening test eliminated those individuals from the sample, in an
attempt to eliminate error. In an
attempt to maintain good interpretable data, the team also randomly eliminated
some of the non-problem gambling women because they produced an unequal ratio
of men to women. The South Oaks
Gambling Screen (SOGS), the Addiction Severity Index (ASI), and the Symptom
Checklist 90-Revised provided the gambling, addiction, and psychiatric data
needed for each participant. The
overall findings were that there was no considerable psychiatric difference
between the problem and non-problem gamblers. The article admits that because of the small sample the
study may not be a true representation of the whole population. Another weakness is that the study
included all types of substance abusers, including heroin and cocaine users. Such a broad sample does not provide
for a good control. Finally, the
study used tests that evaluate lifetime problems therefore it cannot determine
whether problem gambling, psychiatric disorders, and substance abuse were
manifest at the same time in the participants. SCOTT
HOLLINGSHAUS
Toneatto, Tony and Ferguson, Donna
(2003). Effect of a new casino on problem gambling in treatment-seeking
substance abusers. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 48(1), 40-44.
This
article follows the development of problem gambling in a community after the
establishment of a local casino.
The study looks at the relationships between certain substance
dependencies and problem gambling.
Much care was taken to provide a proper control and the data seem very
strong.
The
article examines the gambling habits of 853 residents in the Niagara Falls,
Ontario during the tree years following the establishment of the Niagara Falls
Casino in 1996. The entire data
sample consists of people seeking treatment for substance abuse with similar
demographics to the entire population.
One noticeable difference is that two thirds of those studied were men,
which does not follow the normal distribution. The other big difference is that more than half of those
studied were receiving government assistance, which is far from the norm. Details such as these must be addressed
in order to fully apply the data to the whole population. Aside from those two differences, the
sample set is acceptable as normal.
The study found that most people gambled in lotteries, but those who
were problem gamblers gambled more in other ways. As far as the substance abuse connection, it appears that
the cannabis abuse is most closely related to problem gambling. Rates of problem gambling among all the
substance abusers were considerably higher than in the normal population. This result coincides with similar
studies. SCOTT HOLLINGSHAUS
Hodgins, David C., Makarchuk, Karyn and
Peden, Nicole (2002). Why problem
gamblers quit gambling: A comparison of methods and samples. Addiction
Research and Theory, 10(2), 203-208.
This
article is a comparison study of the different factors that contributed to the
eventual quitting of gambling by problem gamblers. The study compares recent quitters with long-term quitters in
terms of reasons for quitting. The
main goal of the study was to look at the factors and determine if the main
reason for quitting was internal or if it was imposed by external
circumstances. The article
accomplishes this goal and gives some interesting data on the subject.
The
study used the SOGS test to determine the gambling status of the study's
participants. The sample set
included 43 long-term quitters and 101 recent quitters. The samples contained similar
percentages of male and female.
The two groups were also similar in terms of other demographics,
providing for a good overall sample set.
Participants responded to several surveys inquiring as to their reasons
for quitting. The survey asked if
reasons for quitting involved crises, immediate decisions, or other
contributing factors. Results
found that in most cases the two samples coincided. Some key differences found that long-term quitters seemed to
say that their quitting happened over a short period while those recent
quitters claimed that it was a slow process. The main finding of the study was that most quitters found
that it was a conscious decision not forced by outside circumstances. This is consistent with the original
hypothesis. SCOTT HOLLINGSHAUS
Orford, Jim and Victoria Morison (1996). Drinking and gambling: a comparison with implications for
theories of addiction. Drug and
Alcohol Review, 15, 47-56.
This
article compares a group of alcoholics and pathological gamblers in several
situations. It is a well thought
out project with some very interesting results. It is one of the first studies to show a considerable
difference between the two disorders.
The data are very convincing and they provide an important point of view
for anybody looking into the connections between the two addictions. However, the study is not a very large
one, in that it does not have a very large sample set. Overall, the article is a very good and
informative one.
The
study takes 16 alcoholics and 16 gamblers and compares the symptoms that the
two groups portray. First, the
article looks at how strong the two addictions are. It found that both alcoholics and pathologic gamblers are
very addicted to their problems.
Secondly, the article looks at the withdrawal symptoms of the both. The study found that alcoholics were
the only ones to show significant withdrawal symptoms, similar to other recent
studies. Finally, in the study the
researchers interview each of the participants for about one and a half hours
in order to more fully understand the impact of these two diseases. Although not all the results from these
interviews are in the article, the key information is presented in an
informative manner. The main
weakness of the paper is the fact that the sample group is so small. However, the two groups were purposely
kept small in order to more carefully control the gambling and drinking habits
of each participant. Other than
that, the study is very convincing. SCOTT
HOLLINGSHAUS
Weiss, Stephen M. (1999) A
comparison of maladaptive behaviors of athletes and non athletes. Journal of Psychology, 133(3), 315-322.
Volberg, Rachel A. (1994) The
prevalence and demographics of pathological gamblers: implications for public
health. American Journal of
Public Health, 84(2).
Griffiths, Mark. (1995). Adolescent
Gambling. New York: Routledge.
Introducing the concept of adolescent gambling with case studies,
the author gives accurate information in an enjoyable manner. Covering a variety of aspects of
adolescent gambling, Griffiths begins with an informative overview of gambling
in general, and goes on to focus more specifically on fruit machine gambling.
Upon first inquiry the tables and graphs seem to be accurate, with correct
analyses.
Griffiths combines his publications in journals such as British
Journal of Psychology, Addictive Behaviors, Journal of Gambling Studies Journal
of Community and Applied Social Psychology, and adds his more recent insights and studies.
Each chapter can be an article in itself, with studies, tables, explanations
and conclusions. This book is a
reliable and informative source. AMBER CLAWSON
Petry, Nancy M. and Tawfik, Zeena
(2001). Comparison of
Problem-Gambling and Non–Problem-Gambling Youths Seeking Treatment for
Marijuana Abuse. Psychiatry, 40(11), 1324-1331.
This
article attempts to look at the connections between Marijuana use and
pathological gambling. The study
looked at prevalence of pathological gambling among marijuana using adolescents
and other demographic information between the two. The study is a retrospective one and produces some okay
results. The data seems reliable,
however, it is pretty simplistic.
The article is good for people who are interested in knowing about the
comorbidity of the two, but does not provide any data as to the real connection
between them.
The
study involved 255 adolescents who were under surveillance for marijuana
use. It found that the prevalence
of pathological gambling among them was much higher than the national average.
It was about 20% compared to the national average of 2%. This was determined using the South
Oaks Gambling Screen. The study
also found that most of the pathological gamblers were white males. These data are consistent with other
studies comparing pathological gambling and addictions. In this way, the study does not provide
any new unique information. The
only useful information that the study provides is that criminal activity is
more common among those individuals that share both addictions. If one is interested in looking at
similarities between pathological gambling and marijuana addiction, this
article is not a good resource. SCOTT
HOLLINGSHAUS
Darbyshire, P., Oster, C., & Carrig, H. (2001). The experience of pervasive
loss: Children and young people living in a family where parental gambling is a
problem. Journal of Gambling
Studies, 17, 23-45.
This recent study
investigates parental gambling problems from the perspective of the youth. This study is a solid foundation for
future work. Children of parents
who gamble face real-life problems, and have not been the focus of as many
studies. This study enumerates a
concept termed "pervasive loss."
This includes a physical and existential loss of a parent, a loss of
security and trust, loss of child's relationship with extended family, as well
as financial losses.
The approach and methods were well-planned and explained, taking
into considerations of who was to be examined, and what permission was
needed. In each family, one parent
had acknowledged a serious gambling problem. 15 children from these eight families, 11 males and 4
females, aged 7 to 18, were questioned in an interview setting. Difficulty arises in future studies for
many reasons. Parents may not
acknowledge a serious gambling problem, or be unwilling to provide honest
answers. Although this study was
in relation to Australian homes, similar cases can be found in North
America. The findings can be
applied to our country and provide insight for further studies here. There are strong arguments from the
findings in this preliminary study, which verify a need to explore the problem
children face in the home of gambling parents. AMBER CLAWSON
Marjoribanks,
K. (2002). Family contexts,
individual characteristics, proximal settings, and adolescents'
aspirations. Psychological
Reports, 91, 769-770.
This study examines family
social status and parents' perceived aspirations as factors to adolescents' own
aspirations about education and occupation. Although not having a direct connection to adolescent
gambling, this source provides insight to possible factors from the home which
influence adolescents.
Having a large study group size give credibility to the results.
Examining 1,724 boys and 1,788 girls, the study was extensive in
its research. The explanation of
results is quite extensive, and rich with statistical terms. Thus the explanation is not
easily understood. The author
recognizes potential problem of missing data, and the inclusion of dummy
variables. Encouraging future investigations
to test his research model, the author recognizes complexity of a once-thought
simple solution. Quoting Roth
(1998), "Initially, we conceived learning environments as stable entities that
could easily be changed. However,
our development efforts led us to understand the complexity of reform"
(p.91). This study explored
relations between distal family contexts and aspirations. AMBER CLAWSON
Amati, B.H. (1981) Juvenile
Delinquency and habit patterns. Indian Journal of Social Work, 44, 405-408.
Keil, N. (1956) The behavior
of five adolescents while playing poker.
Journal of Human Relations, 5, 79-89.
Knickerbocker, Brad.
(1999). For many teens, gambling
starts at home. Christian
Science Monitor, 91(29), 3.
Myers, Jim.