Exploring the prevalence of gambling harm among active duty military personnel: a systematic scoping review

Abstract

The prevalence of gambling harm among active duty military personnel is a largely unexplored topic. With different forms of social gambling often found within (or in close proximity to) military bases around the world, understanding the extent of gambling activities and consequent harms occurring within military contexts warrants further attention. This review aims to identify, describe and thematically synthesise published literature on gambling harm and related issues among active duty military personnel. Scoping review methods were applied in order to understand this relatively under-researched population and understand appropriate avenues for future research. A systematic multi-database text word search, incorporating search results from Scopus, Pubmed, Web of Science, PsychInfo, and the Journal Military Medicine, was conducted. A total of 11 sources met inclusion criteria, all originating from the United States of America. The results suggest a distinct gap in the current international literature on this topic. Despite gambling's long and colourful association with defence downtime, research into gambling harm prevalence rates in relation to what could be considered a high-risk group is limited. Findings reveal that strategies to identify and address gambling harm within this population are severely lacking from the published literature and non-existent outside North America. Implications for understanding and addressing gambling harm among active duty personnel and directions for future research are discussed.

Hitting the wall: The impact of barriers to care and cumulative trauma exposure on PTSD among Northern Ireland Veterans

“…Several studies internationally have reported that rates of problem gambling in veterans range from 2% to 29% and exceed rates reported for non-veterans. Gambling problems are also reported as frequently co-occurring with mental ill health disorders; a recent study reported that 41% of veterans being treated for gambling concerns have also experienced mood disorders at some point in their lifetime (Ahern et al, 2015, Etuk et al, 2020Freeman et al, 2019;Levy & Tracy, 2018;Paterson et al, 2020;Shirk et al, 2018;van der Mass & Nower, 2020).…”

Acceptance and commitment therapy for co-occurring gambling disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder in veterans: a narrative review

“…The most commonly cited reasons for non-help seeking include perceived stigma and the practical accessibility of support (Hom et al, 2017 ; Kantor et al, 2017 ; Possemato et al, 2018 ). The increased availability of opportunities to gamble nowadays, the stigma associated with disordered gambling, and the tendency for veterans to use gambling to cope with the consequences of trauma may combine and prompt lower levels of help-seeking (Paterson et al, 2021 ). Mental health difficulties related to PTSD and GD may thus go undetected among veterans.…”