The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

The WAGER, Vol 2(25) - Prevalence, Numerators, & Definition of a Case

The previous WAGER examined some debatable issues associated with the denominator of pathological gambling prevalence estimates*. The numerator in pathological gambling prevalence estimates is no less complicated than the denominator. Although the numerator of a prevalence estimate portrays the number of individuals with disordered gambling over a specified period of time, reasonable people disagree about what exactly is disordered gambling. Pathological gambling does not (yet) have a marker that can identify an individual as a “case.” Thus, the parameters of given measurements determine this disorder. Common instruments used to identify “cases” of pathological gamblers include the SOGS, DIS, MAGS, and... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol 2(24) - Prevalence, Denominators, & Determination of At-risk

A prevalence estimate, or the proportion of a population who have a particular health condition at a point or period in time, is calculated by dividing the numerator (those with the disorder) by the denominator. Embedded in every prevalence estimate is an assumption about who is included in the denominator. Within the problem gambling research field, the denominator of prevalence estimates traditionally has included the entire sample, including those who have never gambled. For example, in a telephone survey of adults in Massachusetts, the conventional prevalence estimate would be the number of adults who met criteria for pathological gambling (numerator)... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol 2(23) - Gambling in a Chinese Cultural Context

Gambling always occurs within a social and cultural context. In some Canadian cities (e.g., Toronto, Montreal), Chinese problem gambling treatment services have developed for the growing number of Chinese-speaking individuals in these cities. Ricky Sin* conducted an exploratory study examining gambling and problem gambling behaviors and attitudes among Chinese in Quebec. The non-random sample included 229 individuals who visited the Chinese Family Service of Greater Montreal (CFS) during a one-week period, and 56 Chinese restaurant workers. The results for the CFS clients showed that the longer a respondent had lived in Canada, the higher the SOGS score. There are several... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol 2(22) - Relapse Among Problem Gamblers

Little research has been done exploring patterns of relapse among problem gamblers. In 1980, Cummings, Gordon, & Marlatt* surveyed 19 male gamblers from Gamblers Anonymous in eight major U.S. cities about their reasons for relapse. For this study, relapse was defined as any gambling after a period of abstinence. For 47% of the gamblers, the reason for relapse was negative emotional states. A negative emotional state (e.g., boredom, frustration, anger) was defined as an adverse emotional reaction either to environmental situations (e.g., accidents or hard life events) or interpersonal situations that occurred previously (e.g., arguments). Other reasons for relapse included... Read more →