Gambling motives: application of the Reasons for Gambling Questionnaire in an Australian Population Survey

Francis, K. L., Dowling, N. A., Jackson, A. C., Christensen, D. R. and Wardle, H. (2015) Gambling motives: application of the Reasons for Gambling Questionnaire in an Australian Population Survey. Journal of Gambling Studies, 31(3), pp. 807-823. (doi: 10.1007/s10899-014-9458-1) (PMID:24705633)

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Abstract

The Reasons for Gambling Questionnaire (RGQ) consist of 15 items forming five factors: enhancement, social, money, recreation and coping. The RGQ was developed for use in the 2010 British Gambling Prevalence Survey (BGPS) and has now been employed in the second Social and Economic Impact Study (SEIS) of Gambling in Tasmania study conducted in 2011 in Australia. Given differences between Britain and Australia in terms of socio-demographic profiles, gambling cultures and attitudes, gambling access and availability, gambling regulation, and rates and patterns of gambling participation, the aims of this study were to analyse the RGQ data from the SEIS to: (1) determine the most commonly endorsed gambling motives in an Australian jurisdiction, (2) explore the factor structure of the RGQ in an Australian sample, and (3) explore how motives for gambling vary among different Australian population sub-groups. A representative sample of the Tasmanian population who had gambled in the previous 12 months (n = 2,796) were administered the RGQ via computer-assisted telephone interviewing. The five most commonly endorsed reasons for gambling were for fun (62 %), followed by the chance of winning big money (52 %), it being something to do with friends and family (48 %), to be sociable (40 %), and excitement (38 %). A principal component analysis revealed a five-factor structure that is slightly different from that derived in the BGPS: money, regulate internal state, positive feelings, social, and challenge reasons. Finally, gambling motives varied according to socio-demographic factors, number of gambling activities, problem gambling severity, and participation on different gambling activities. Although some of these findings are consistent with those from the BGPS, there are also some slight differences, suggesting that there may be regional-specific variations in gambling motives.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Wardle, Professor Heather
Authors: Francis, K. L., Dowling, N. A., Jackson, A. C., Christensen, D. R., and Wardle, H.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Sociology Anthropology and Applied Social Sciences
Journal Name:Journal of Gambling Studies
Publisher:Springer
ISSN:1050-5350
ISSN (Online):1573-3602
Published Online:06 April 2014

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