Casino Gambling and the Family: Exploring the Connections and Identifying Consequences

Although sanctioned by state governments and widely popular across the United States, gambling remains a controversial activity. For example, casino gambling may be legal and popular, but many believe squandering money is harmful and deviant. People from all backgrounds visit casinos. However, older adults comprise a major portion of the gambling clientele. Along with this have come reports of a wide variety of negative outcomes. Yet, few studies have investigated the relationship between gambling and the family. We use a qualitative in-depth interview grounded theory approach with 34 adults aged 62–88 to investigate the relationship between gambling and family consequences. We explore the impact of gambling on the family with the active aging concept as well as the codependency and sociocultural models of addiction. They offer new ways to understand mild to serious deviance among older adults.     

Crime in Atlantic City: Do casinos make a difference?

In November, 1976 a constitutional referendum in the state of New Jersey legalized casino gaming. This paper examines the impact of this action on crime in Atlantic City, the only location in the state where gambling is permitted. More specifically, the analysis looks at the incidence of FBI index crimes in that jurisdiction in two basic ways. First, the work examines the raw numbers and rate of crime in the city, both before and after the introduction of casino gambling. Although the analysis establishes that the raw figures show that there has been a significant increase in index crimes, it is argued that using these statistics as a measure of crime in Atlantic City is misleading because they fail to take into account the numerous visitors to the city when calculating the population‐at‐risk and because they do not differentiate between crime that occurs in the community and that which occurs in the casinos. The second phase of the analysis addresses these issues through the use of adjusted populations and data that identify casino‐based versus non‐casino crimes. This analysis leads us to conclude that the legalization of gambling has not resulted in a significant increase in index crimes in Atlantic City.     

Comparison between immigrant and Spanish native-born pathological gambling patients

The study compared clinical, psychopathological, and personality profiles between immigrants and Spanish native-born pathological gambling patients. A total of 1,601 native-born and 133 immigrant patients attending treatment at a specialized hospital unit were administered a battery of questionnaires during clinical assessment. Outcome measures were compared between both groups and the incremental predictive accuracy of the area of origin was examined using a regression model. Native-born Spaniards showed a mean 2.6 yr. greater duration of the disorder, while immigrants scored higher on South Oaks Gambling Screen, frequency of going to casinos, and total money spent (in a single day and/or to recover losses). General psychopathology and personality scores did not differ between the cohorts. However, immigration from Asia had a statistically significantly incremental validity for pathological gambling in South Oaks Gambling Screen scores. Both cohorts shared more similarities than differences in their gambling profiles.     

Characteristics of problem gamblers 56 years of age or older: a statewide study of casino self-excluders

Gambling among older adults appears to be increasing, though little is known about the characteristics of older adult problem gamblers. The purpose of this study was to compare older adults to younger and middle-aged adults in a cohort of problem gamblers participating in a state-administered casino self-exclusion program. Self-reported problem gamblers (N = 1,601) who voluntary banned themselves from Missouri casinos from 2001 to 2003 were categorized by age as younger adults (ages 21 to 35; n = 490), middle-aged adults (ages 36 to 55; n = 950), and older adults (ages 56 to 79; n = 161), and were compared with respect to demographic variables, gambling participation, and reasons for self-exclusion. Older adult self-excluders typically began gambling in midlife, experienced gambling problems around age 60, reported preferences for nonstrategic forms of gambling, and identified fear of suicide as the primary reason for self-excluding. Implications for intervention, prevention and treatment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).     

Impulsivity facets and cognitive distortions associated with problem gambling: Differences between ADHD and non-ADHD gamblers

ObjectiveTo compare the association between (1) impulsivity facets or cognitive distortions, and (2) problem gambling between male gamblers with versus without self-reported Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).MethodIn 287 male gamblers recruited online, we assessed problem gambling (South Oaks Gambling Screen; cut-off ≥ 3), Adult ADHD Self-report Scale-V1.1 (ADHD), impulsivity facets (UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale-short version) and gambling-related cognitions (Gambling-Related Cognitions Scale).ResultsThe prevalence of self-reported ADHD was 21.6%. In both ADHD and non-ADHD groups, problem gambling was associated with negative urgency, positive urgency and the same cognitive distortions. Sensation seeking and lack of premeditation were associated with problem gambling, but only in non-ADHD gamblers (significant interaction effect).ConclusionDifferent impulsivity facets, but not different cognitive distortions, are associated with problem gambling in male gamblers with or without ADHD. Emotion dysregulation (positive and negative urgency) and cognitive distortions are involved in both groups, but sensation seeking and lack of premeditation may be specific to non-ADHD problem gamblers.     

Executive Functioning and Gambling: Performance on the Trail Making Test is Associated with Gambling Problems in Older Adult Gamblers

ABSTRACT

Rates of gambling problems in older adults have risen with increased accessibility of gambling venues. One possible contributor to problem gambling among older adults is decreased self-control brought about by diminished executive functioning. Consistent with this possibility, Study 1 revealed that older adults recruited from gambling venues reported greater gambling problems if they also experienced deficits in executive functioning, measured via the Trail Making Test. Study 2 replicated this finding and demonstrated that problem gambling is associated with increased depression among older adults, mediated by increased financial distress. These studies provide support for the hypothesis that older adult gamblers who have executive functioning problems are also likely to have gambling problems.     

Bartering

Summary

This article examines issues related to bartering arrangements in the context of providing professional mental health services. The risks associated with significant conflict of interest in the professional-client relationship and the potential for exploitation of the client are analyzed by examining the interplay of personal, business, and clinical interests in bartering relationships. Professional practice guidelines are suggested.     

Gambling Sponsorship and Advertising in British Football: A Critical Account

ABSTRACT

Problem gambling is a growing public health issue in the UK. In this paper, we argue that football plays a problematic role in the promotion and normalisation of gambling. Given that sport broadcasts offer gambling (and alcohol) companies a loophole to avoid the post-watershed guidelines, children and young people are also exposed. By marketing gambling in general and to children in particular, football contributes to an increase in the overall ‘amount’ of gambling in society. In turn, this contributes to an increase in the prevalence of problem gambling (including gambling disorder) and all the associated harms. Furthermore, we argue that a significant amount of gambling profits come from problem gamblers. Therefore, football benefits from, and contributes to, the addictive consumption of gamblers.     

Feedback related brain activity in a gambling task: A temporal analysis of EEG correlates

Lucchiari, C. & Pravettoni, G. (2010). Feedback related brain activity in a gambling task: A temporal analysis of EEG correlates. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 51, 449–454. The pattern of neural correlates of feedback processing has been the subject of a number of studies, using both neuroimaging and electrophysiological recordings. A complex functional network was found to be activated after a choice in order to process a feedback and sustain an adaptive behavior. However, many aspects of this network are still unclear and further research is needed to better understand this process. We conducted an EEG study using a simple gambling task. Twenty three subjects participated to the study. We analyzed both EEG power spectrum and ERP components evoked by presentation of a feedback signal (money gain or loss) during a simple gambling task. Our data confirmed that a negative ERP component is present about 270 ms after feedback, particularly relevant following a choice with negative outcome. Furthermore, the theta and delta oscillatory activity seem to be correlated to a dynamic decision‐making process within specific cortical networks. In particular, theta activity showed a valence dependent development between 150 and 350 ms post‐feedback onset. Differently from previous studies (Cohen, Elger & Ranganath, 2007; Marco‐Pallares, Cucurell, Cunillera et al., 2008), we did not find any valence effect in beta range. However, our data are consistent with Christie and Tata (2009) , probably due to the nature of the gambling task used in both studies. In conclusion, our data, in line with some prior findings showed that the feedback related response is correlated to a complex pattern of cortical activation probably mediated by theta and delta activity.     

Disposable Time and Disposable Income: Problem Casino Gambling Behavior in Older Adults

Increasing numbers of retirees spend their leisure time in the ever-growing number of gambling casinos in this country. For most older adults, casino gambling is a new form of excitement and entertainment. However, for some retirees, especially those vulnerable to depression from the changes and losses that can occur in aging, casino gambling can become disordered, problematic, and/or an addiction. Although prevalence studies have examined the incidence of problem gambling in other age groups, little attention has been directed to the impact of casino gambling on older adults. The authors discuss problem and pathological gambling in retired older adults, and provide clinical case examples of a growing number of older adults with problem gambling behaviors seen in an outpatient geriatric psychiatry clinic. Finally, they urge that an evaluation of gambling behaviors be a routine portion of geriatric clinical evaluations.     

The perception of crime and criminality: The violent criminal and swindler as social types

Part of the findings of a study carried out in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, in 1976, on the perception of crime and criminals are reported. Clear and distinct social types of the violent criminal and swindler were found, which were reasonably close to, or at least not discordant with, criminological‐sociological literature. A very negative assessment of the violent criminal was held by respondents, which contrasted with the more positive assessment of the swindler. Differences were also found in respondents’ perceptions of the aetiology of violent crime and fraud. However, respondents were punitive toward both types of criminals, though more punitive toward the violent criminal. The analysis is presented within a framework of emphasizing social typing, the audience and social control. It is argued that the repertoire of social types held by individuals and groups, and the process of social typing, play a central part in the functioning of criminal justice systems and the social construction of social control.     

Social Deviancy and Suicidal Behavior

Abstract

In this study lottery gambling behavior of 288 American college students was examined. Although most students were infrequent gamblers, we found that student lottery gambling was related to having parents and friends who were lottery gamblers. Students who were frequent lottery gamblers were more likely to participate in other forms of gambling and to have begun gambling at younger ages than less frequent gamblers. Locus of control was related to more frequent gambling among parents and only marginally related to more frequent lottery play among students. Discriminant analysis using parental gambling, peer gambling, games played, sex, and locus of control could predict frequency of lottery playing for 72% of gamblers and nongamblers.     

Elevated Suicide Levels Associated with Legalized Gambling

There has been no systematic, large-scale statistical investigation of the link between gambling and suicide, despite the suggestion of such a link from small-scale case studies. This article examines whether gamblers or those associated with them are prone to suicide and whether gaming communities experience atypically high suicide rates. Las Vegas, the premier U.S. gambling setting, displays the highest levels of suicide in the nation, both for residents of Las Vegas and for visitors to that setting. In general, visitors to and residents of major gaming communities experience significantly elevated suicide levels. In Atlantic City, abnormally high suicide levels for visitors and residents appeared only after gambling casinos were opened. The findings do not seem to result merely because gaming settings attract suicidal individuals.     

A computerized simulation for investigating gambling behavior during roulette play

The present paper describes a computerized roulette program for the conducting of psychological research on gambling behavior. The program was designed to simulate an actual roulette game found in casinos and gambling riverboats throughout North America. The roulette program collects detailed trial-by-trial data on player/participant behavior that can easily be transferred into data analysis and graphics programs. This multimedia simulation was designed in the Visual Basic programming language, and it is capable of running on any IBM-compatible personal computer running the Windows 2000 or higher operating system.     

A computerized simulation for investigating gambling behavior during roulette play.

The present paper describes a computerized roulette program for the conducting of psychological research on gambling behavior. The program was designed to simulate an actual roulette game found in casinos and gambling riverboats throughout North America. The roulette program collects detailed trial-by-trial data on player/participant behavior that can easily be transferred into data analysis and graphics programs. This multimedia simulation was designed in the Visual Basic programming language, and it is capable of running on any IBM-compatible personal computer running the Windows 2000 or higher operating system.     

Money does not stink: Using unpleasant odors as stimulus material changes risky decision making

Odors are strong elicitors of affect, and they play an important role in guiding human behavior, such as avoiding fire or spoiled food. However, little is known about how risky decision making changes when stimuli are olfactory. We investigated this question in an experimental study of risky decision making with unpleasant odors and monetary losses in a fully incentivized task with real outcomes. Odor and monetary decisions were matched so that monetary losses corresponded to the amount of money participants were willing to pay to avoid smelling an odor. Hierarchical Bayesian analyses using prospect theory show that participants were less sensitive to probabilities when gambling with odors than when gambling with money. These results highlight the importance of taking the sensory modality into account when studying risky decision making.     

Making use of professional development: Employee interests and motivational goal orientations

Vocational interests and goal orientation (GO) are examined for their potential influences on employees' decisions to engage in professional development and to apply the knowledge and skills gained from development activities in their jobs. Specifically, professional development, in the form of continuing professional education (CE), was examined for a variety of practicing healthcare professionals (N = 183), including physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals in the Midwest United States. Aspects of vocational interest theory (interests and congruence) and GO theory predicted CE outcomes (voluntary participation in CE beyond professional requirements and the application of CE learning at work). Further, employee GO mediated between interests and the application of CE learning at work, providing evidence of a work-specific motivational process linking interests with performance-related behavioral outcomes.     

Reward-based contextual learning supported by anterior cingulate cortex

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is commonly associated with cognitive control and decision making, but its specific function is highly debated. To explore a recent theory that the ACC learns the reward values of task contexts (Holroyd & McClure in Psychological Review, 122, 54–83, 2015; Holroyd & Yeung in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16, 122–128, 2012), we recorded the event-related brain potentials (ERPs) from participants as they played a novel gambling task. The participants were first required to select from among three games in one “virtual casino,” and subsequently they were required to select from among three different games in a different virtual casino; unbeknownst to them, the payoffs for the games were higher in one casino than in the other. Analysis of the reward positivity, an ERP component believed to reflect reward-related signals carried to the ACC by the midbrain dopamine system, revealed that the ACC is sensitive to differences in the reward values associated with both the casinos and the games inside the casinos, indicating that participants learned the values of the contexts in which rewards were delivered. These results highlight the importance of the ACC in learning the reward values of task contexts in order to guide action selection.     

Does Legalized Gambling Elevate the Risk of Suicide? An Analysis of U.S. Counties and Metropolitan Areas

This study addresses a possible link between suicide and casino gambling. Resident suicide rates are analyzed for (a) a 1990 cross-section of 148 U.S. metropolitan areas and (b) before and after the advent of legalized casinos in five U.S. counties. Data are drawn from government and gaming industry sources. In cross-section, metro area suicide is strongly correlated with region, accidental death and homicide rates, age and race composition, and economic vitality, followed by a modest net positive correlation with casino presence. By contrast, the time series analysis yields no evidence of a gambling effect.     

Characterization of controlled gamblers and pathological gamblers using the social representation theory

Introduction

In industrialized countries, gambling disorder tends to become a major issue. The use of the social representation theory provides clues for a better understanding of pathological gamblers.