Testing the emotional vulnerability pathway to problem gambling in culturally diverse university students
- Authors: Hum, Sandra , Carr, Sherilene
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Gambling Studies Vol. 34, no. 3 (2018), p. 915-927
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Loneliness and adapting to an unfamiliar environment can increase emotional vulnerability in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) university students. According to Blaszczynski and Nower’s pathways model of problem and pathological gambling, this emotional vulnerability could increase the risk of problem gambling. The current study examined whether loneliness was associated with problem gambling risk in CALD students relative to their Australian peers. Additionally, differences in coping strategies were examined to determine their buffering effect on the relationship. A total of 463 female and 165 male university students (aged 18–38) from Australian (38%), mixed Australian and CALD (23%) and CALD (28%) backgrounds responded to an online survey of problem gambling behaviour, loneliness, and coping strategies. The results supported the hypothesis that loneliness would be related to problem gambling in CALD students. There was no evidence of a moderating effect of coping strategies. Future research could test whether the introduction of programs designed to alleviate loneliness in culturally diverse university students reduces their risk of developing problem gambling. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018.
Marital status and problem gambling among Australian older adults : The mediating role of loneliness
- Authors: Botterill, Emma , Gill, Peter , McLaren, Suzanne , Gomez, Rapson
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Gambling Studies Vol. 32, no. 3 (2016), p. 1027-1038
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Problem gambling rates in older adults have risen dramatically in recent years and require further investigation. Limited available research has suggested that social needs may motivate gambling and hence problem gambling in older adults. Un-partnered older adults may be at greater risk of problem gambling than those with a partner. The current study explored whether loneliness mediated the marital status-problem gambling relationship, and whether gender moderated the mediation model. It was hypothesised that the relationship between being un-partnered and higher levels of loneliness would be stronger for older men than older women. A community sample of Australian men (n = 92) and women (n = 91) gamblers aged from 60 to 90 years (M = 69.75, SD = 7.28) completed the UCLA Loneliness Scale and the Problem Gambling Severity Index. The results supported the moderated mediation model, with loneliness mediating the relationship between marital status and problem gambling for older men but not for older women. It appears that felt loneliness is an important predictor of problem gambling in older adults, and that meeting the social and emotional needs of un-partnered men is important.