The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

The WAGER Vol. 7(13) - Early Contributions to Gambling Research: Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Pathological Gambling

Although the scientific study of pathological gambling has had a relatively brief history, a look back through the literature can be fun and can show just how far we’ve come in our understanding of this important public health issue. Some of the earliest theories were psychoanalytic in approach. Commonly referred to as the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud has made a lasting impact on our understanding of the human mind. Freud theorized that unconscious mental phenomena play an integral role in both our normal and abnormal psychological activity (AROPA, 2002). His psychoanalytic theories offer a way of understanding human behavior... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials - Don't Tug on Superman's Cape

Professor I. Nelson Rose, Whittier Law School, Costa Mesa, CA. It is possible to get in trouble with gray market gambling, but you really have to work at it. One good way is to thumb your nose at the cops. The latest to learn this sad lesson are three Internet gambling websites: Alohacasino.com, Royalclubcasino.com, and 7sultans.com. They were sued by New Jersey Attorney General's divisions of Gaming Enforcement and Consumer Affairs. The allegations in the complaint include everything from violating the State Constitution's ban on gambling to the "unconscionable commercial practice" of advertising to minors with an "improper or unreliable... Read more →

The WAGER Vol. 7(12) - How Many Adolescents Have Gambling Problems?

Recent issues of the WAGER have presented studies of special groups of youths: delinquents (Vol. 7, No. 1), marijuana users (Vol. 6, No. 49), older, post-high school youths (Vol. 6, No. 23), and Canadian school youth (Vol. 6, No. 10). Our understanding of problem gambling among special populations can be furthered by determining the overall prevalence of problem gambling in adolescents. This WAGER presents the prevalence of adolescent problem gambling as estimated by a meta-analysis of prevalence studies (Shaffer & Hall, 1996). Shaffer and Hall (1996) conducted a meta-analysis of youth gambling prevalence studies by reviewing and summarizing reference databases... Read more →

The WAGER Vol. 7(11) - Sugar and Spice

Researchers have found the prevalence of problem gambling to be higher in men than women (Volberg, 1996). As past WAGERs have suggested, gender not only influences the prevalence of problem gambling, but also the developmental trajectory of problem gambling. This week’s WAGER reports on a study that investigated gender differences in predictors of problem gambling (Hraba & Lee, 1996). Researchers used data previously collected by Hraba (1989) for the State of Iowa between April and June of 1989. Originally, 1226 Iowan households were contacted by phone, and a resident of each of 1,011 households completed the entire interview. The response... Read more →

The WAGER Vol. 7(10) - I Can Make That Shot!

Recent meta-analytic work suggests that the prevalence rate of lifetime pathological gambling is about 5.6% among college students (Shaffer & Hall, 2000). One segment of the college student population that has recently come under increased scrutiny is the student athlete. The WAGER reports on a study that suggested that student athletes who report that they gamble are more willing to take risks than those who do not report that they gamble (Cross, Basten, Hendrick, Kristofic, & Schaffer, 1998). This study reported the results of a secondary analysis of survey data collected by Cullen & Latessa, (1996). Cullen and Latessa mailed... Read more →