Cathy Savard

‘How Much Do You Spend Gambling?’: Ambiguities in Questionnaire Items Assessing Expenditure

Expenditure is a dependent variable frequently used in gambling research to index involvement and intensity. However, as a previous study found, self-reported expenditure estimates are ambiguous and imprecise. This paper attempts to (a) replicate the original study, and (b) investigate if specific instructions on methods used to calculate expenditure lead to differences in reported estimates in response to the question, ‘How much money do you spend gambling?’ A total of 637 participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Group 1 with no instructions; Groups 2 and 3 with instructions on calculating net and turnover. Results revealed that when heuristics were not specified, half the sample used net expenditure and the remainder used turnover. When heuristics were clearly specified, 30% failed to comply with instructions in calculating estimates. Results undermine the validity of reported gambling expenditure data and support the need for clear instructions on methods used to calculate expenditure.

Investigating non-gamblers: another step toward identifying potential protective factors against problem gambling

In this article it is argued that knowing more about non-gamblers could help researchers discover novel protective factors against problem gambling. The purpose of this study was to therefore to identify the sociodemographic, psychological and behavioural characteristics that are more prevalent among non-gamblers than among gamblers. Results from a logistic regression analysis with a representative sample of adults in the province of Quebec (Canada) revealed 12 significant predictors of non-gambling status. Among these predictors, seven were sociodemographic variables (i.e. birthplace, mother tongue, childhood religion, civil status, education, family income and family history of gambling problems), four were psychological variables (i.e. perception of ones financial situation relative to others, optimism concerning ones financial situation, beliefs concerning chances of winning, and suicidal ideation) and one variable was behavioural (i.e. church attendance). Further research including different types of variables and a common operational definition of non-gamblers is necessary to better understand this subgroup and its potential for possessing protective factors against gambling problems.