Significant wins and their impacts: Predictors of problem gambling in French and Polish national samples

IF 3.7 2区医学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL

Addictive behaviors Pub Date : 2025-01-29 DOI:10.1016/j.addbeh.2025.108266

Bernadeta Lelonek-Kuleta , Marie-Line Tovar , Rafał P. Bartczuk , Jean-Michel Costes

{"title":"Significant wins and their impacts: Predictors of problem gambling in French and Polish national samples","authors":"Bernadeta Lelonek-Kuleta , Marie-Line Tovar , Rafał P. Bartczuk , Jean-Michel Costes","doi":"10.1016/j.addbeh.2025.108266","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Aim</h3><div>We examined the role of significant win experiences alongside psychosocial factors in the risk of problem gambling.</div></div><div><h3>Participants</h3><div>The study involved adult pure-chance gamblers from representative Polish (<em>n</em> = 3143) and French samples (<em>n</em> = 5692).</div></div><div><h3>Measurements</h3><div>The questionnaire encompassed socio-demographic details, gambling behaviours, significant win experiences, gambling motivation, and problem gambling.</div></div><div><h3>Design & setting</h3><div>Logistic regression analyses unveiled universal and country-specific factors significantly linked to problem-gambling risk.</div></div><div><h3>Findings</h3><div>Universal factors comprised gender (lower risk among females), age (higher risk for ages 35+), household income (negative association), current and past debt (positive association), type of gambling game (higher risk for games other than lotteries), and gambling frequency (positive association). Risk factors also encompassed heightened coping and social motivations to gamble, while the financial motivation inversely correlated with risk. Inter-country differences featured significant wins in the player’s environment, associated with problem-gambling risk only among the French. Then, only the highest amounts spent on gambling in the French group correlated with problem gambling, while lower amounts in the Polish group also did. Notably, a higher problem-gambling risk was observed in the Polish group compared to the French.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>A crucial finding was that significant wins were associated with problem gambling, even when controlling for other essential factors. Our study highlights the role of significant wins, construed as subjective gambler experiences, in fostering problem gambling. This insight suggests the need for a paradigm shift in understanding the role of winning in gambling, representing a risky experience regardless of the objective amount gambled.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7155,"journal":{"name":"Addictive behaviors","volume":"163 ","pages":"Article 108266"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Addictive behaviors","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306460325000218","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Aim

We examined the role of significant win experiences alongside psychosocial factors in the risk of problem gambling.

Participants

The study involved adult pure-chance gamblers from representative Polish (n = 3143) and French samples (n = 5692).

Measurements

The questionnaire encompassed socio-demographic details, gambling behaviours, significant win experiences, gambling motivation, and problem gambling.

Design & setting

Logistic regression analyses unveiled universal and country-specific factors significantly linked to problem-gambling risk.

Findings

Universal factors comprised gender (lower risk among females), age (higher risk for ages 35+), household income (negative association), current and past debt (positive association), type of gambling game (higher risk for games other than lotteries), and gambling frequency (positive association). Risk factors also encompassed heightened coping and social motivations to gamble, while the financial motivation inversely correlated with risk. Inter-country differences featured significant wins in the player’s environment, associated with problem-gambling risk only among the French. Then, only the highest amounts spent on gambling in the French group correlated with problem gambling, while lower amounts in the Polish group also did. Notably, a higher problem-gambling risk was observed in the Polish group compared to the French.

Conclusions

A crucial finding was that significant wins were associated with problem gambling, even when controlling for other essential factors. Our study highlights the role of significant wins, construed as subjective gambler experiences, in fostering problem gambling. This insight suggests the need for a paradigm shift in understanding the role of winning in gambling, representing a risky experience regardless of the objective amount gambled.

查看原文本刊更多论文

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Addictive behaviors 医学-药物滥用

CiteScore

8.40

自引率

4.50%

发文量

283

审稿时长

46 days

期刊介绍： Addictive Behaviors is an international peer-reviewed journal publishing high quality human research on addictive behaviors and disorders since 1975. The journal accepts submissions of full-length papers and short communications on substance-related addictions such as the abuse of alcohol, drugs and nicotine, and behavioral addictions involving gambling and technology. We primarily publish behavioral and psychosocial research but our articles span the fields of psychology, sociology, psychiatry, epidemiology, social policy, medicine, pharmacology and neuroscience. While theoretical orientations are diverse, the emphasis of the journal is primarily empirical. That is, sound experimental design combined with valid, reliable assessment and evaluation procedures are a requisite for acceptance. However, innovative and empirically oriented case studies that might encourage new lines of inquiry are accepted as well. Studies that clearly contribute to current knowledge of etiology, prevention, social policy or treatment are given priority. Scholarly commentaries on topical issues, systematic reviews, and mini reviews are encouraged. We especially welcome multimedia papers that incorporate video or audio components to better display methodology or findings. Studies can also be submitted to Addictive Behaviors? companion title, the open access journal Addictive Behaviors Reports, which has a particular interest in ''non-traditional'', innovative and empirically-oriented research such as negative/null data papers, replication studies, case reports on novel treatments, and cross-cultural research.