Etiology of problem gambling in Canada.

Abstract

Objective: To conduct a large-scale national cohort study to identify the current etiological risk factors for problem gambling in Canada. Method: A cohort of 10,119 Canadian gamblers completed a comprehensive self-administered online questionnaire in 2018 and were reassessed in 2019. At baseline, the sample contained 1,388 at-risk gamblers, 1,346 problem gamblers, and 2,710 with a major DSM-5 mental health disorder. A total of 108 independent variables (IVs) were available for analysis, as well as the self-report of perceived causes of gambling-related problems for 1,261 individuals. Results: The strongest multivariate predictors of current and future problem gambling were "gambling-related" variables (i.e., current and past problem gambling, intensive gambling involvement, playing electronic gambling machines (EGMs), gambling fallacies, socializing with other people having gambling-related problems, and family history of having gambling-related problems). Beyond gambling-related variables, greater impulsivity and lower household income were robustly predictive. Thirteen additional variables were either concurrently or prospectively predictive, but not both. In contrast to the many different quantitative predictors, self-reported causes tended to be singular and psychologically oriented (i.e., desire to win money, boredom, stress, poor self-control). Conclusions: The predictors of problematic gambling in the present study are very similar to the predictors identified in prior international longitudinal and cross-sectional research. This implies core cross-cultural risk factors, with gambling-related variables and impulsivity being most important, and comorbidities and demographic variables having more modest contributions. The additional value of the present results is that they comprehensively identify the relative importance of all known etiologically relevant variables within a current Canadian context. Public Health Significance StatementThe public significance of this article is that it comprehensively identifies the most important predictors of concurrent and future problem gambling in Canada. This information can be used to guide more effective prevention and treatment.

Predictors of problem gambling remission in adults: A Canadian longitudinal study.

“…The strongest predictors for PG remission were related to specific gambling types. Research has supported the strong association between gambling on EGMs and PG (Allami et al, 2021; Storer et al, 2009), as well as the hypothesized the directional association from EGM participation to PG (Williams et al, 2023). The present study adds to this research by showing that cessation of EGM participation may also contribute to remission from PG, thus demonstrating the bidirectional relationship that could not yet be examined by cross-sectional studies.…”

“…(Allami et al, 2021), there is a surprising lack of studies examining the longitudinal association between online gambling and PG risk. The only one, to our knowledge, examined whether gambling online predicts an increase in PG 1 year later (Williams et al, 2023). When combined with other variables in a stepwise logistic regression similar to ours, these authors did not find that online gambling predicted PG risk 1 year later.…”

“…To our knowledge, only two other studies have some degree of similarity to the current one. Williams et al (2023) looked at the emergence of PG among all people who gamble , whereas the present article has only looked at participants with PG at baseline to predict remission 1 year later (i.e., the subset of participants is different in the present case). Hodgins et al (2022) looked at the types of help (e.g., treatment) that a subset of participants have received.…”

“…Most recently, a nation-wide Canadian study examined more than 100 risk factors over a 2-year period (Williams et al, 2023). In line with the rankings offered by the cross-sectional meta-analysis (Allami et al, 2021), the Williams et al (2023) study found the strongest risk factors for both concurrent and future development of PG were gambling-related variables, such as intensive gambling involvement, participating in electronic gaming machines (EGMs), and a personal or family history of PG. Beyond gambling-related variables, lower household income and greater impulsivity were robustly predictive.…”

Addiction: A treatise from 1561

“…The treatise also provides descriptions of the excessive and erroneous optimism of pathological gamblers that prefigure the current notion of the illusion of control that is currently thought to characterize gamblers [44], a key concept in cognitive therapy [45,46]. The aetiological factors are mainly mistakes of judgement, and genetic vulnerabilities are considered a discriminating factor, as of today [38,47]. The deleterious consequences of gambling correspond to several DSM-5 criteria for addiction § [48,49].…”