Women and gambling-related harm: a narrative literature review and implications for research, policy, and practice

Background While the prevalence of women’s participation in gambling is steadily increasing, there is a well-recognised male bias in gambling research and policy. Few papers have sought to synthesise the literature relating to women and gambling-related harm and provide practical suggestions to guide future research, policy, and practice which take into account the specific nuances associated with women’s gambling. Methods A narrative literature review was conducted to review the evidence base on women’s gambling behaviours and experiences of harm. Drawing from strategies used effectively in other areas of public health, key elements for a gendered approach to harm prevention were identified and adapted into practical public health research, policy and practice strategies. Results Results indicated a lack of research that explores women’s gambling. Few studies have examined the impact of gambling on the lives of women, with limited understanding of the factors that influence women’s engagement with gambling products, and the impact of industry tactics. A gendered approach was identified as a strategy used successfully in other areas of public health to shift the focus onto women and to ensure they are considered in research. In tobacco control, increasing trends in women’s smoking behaviour were combatted with targeted research, policy and practical initiatives. These key elements were adapted to create a conceptual framework for reducing and preventing gambling harm in women. The framework provides regulatory direction and a research agenda to minimise gambling-related harm for women both in Australia and internationally. Evidence-based policies should be implemented to focus on the influence of gender and associated factors to address gambling-related harm. Practical interventions must take into account how women conceptualise and respond to gambling risk in order to develop specific harm prevention programs which respond to their needs. Conclusion A gendered approach to gambling harm prevention shifts the focus onto the unique factors associated with women’s gambling and specific ways to prevent harm. As seen in other areas of public health, such a framework enables harm measures, policies, and interventions to be developed that are salient to girls and women’s lives, experiences and circumstances

Multiple novel prostate cancer susceptibility signals identified by fine-mapping of known risk loci among Europeans

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous common prostate cancer (PrCa) susceptibility loci. We have fine-mapped 64 GWAS regions known at the conclusion of the iCOGS study using large-scale genotyping and imputation in 25 723 PrCa cases and 26 274 controls of European ancestry. We detected evidence for multiple independent signals at 16 regions, 12 of which contained additional newly identified significant associations. A single signal comprising a spectrum of correlated variation was observed at 39 regions; 35 of which are now described by a novel more significantly associated lead SNP, while the originally reported variant remained as the lead SNP only in 4 regions. We also confirmed two association signals in Europeans that had been previously reported only in East-Asian GWAS. Based on statistical evidence and linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure, we have curated and narrowed down the list of the most likely candidate causal variants for each region. Functional annotation using data from ENCODE filtered for PrCa cell lines and eQTL analysis demonstrated significant enrichment for overlap with bio-features within this set. By incorporating the novel risk variants identified here alongside the refined data for existing association signals, we estimate that these loci now explain ∼38.9% of the familial relative risk of PrCa, an 8.9% improvement over the previously reported GWAS tag SNPs. This suggests that a significant fraction of the heritability of PrCa may have been hidden during the discovery phase of GWAS, in particular due to the presence of multiple independent signals within the same regio

Risk Factors for Increased Online Gambling during COVID-19 Lockdowns in New Zealand: A Longitudinal Study

Recent research investigating changes in gambling behaviors during periods of COVID-19 social restrictions, such as enforced lockdowns, are somewhat limited by methodology, being generally cross-sectional in nature and with participant samples recruited via online panels. The present study overcame these limitations via a secondary analysis of data collected in 2012 and 2015 from a New Zealand (NZ) longitudinal gambling study, with questions related to gambling behaviors due to COVID-19 lockdown periods included in an additional data collection, of participants who had previously scored as a risky gambler, during 2020/21. Almost one-quarter of online gamblers increased their gambling during lockdown with this most likely to be on overseas gambling sites, instant scratch card gambling and Lotto. The only sociodemographic risk factor for increased online gambling was higher education. Behavioral risk factors included being a current low risk/moderate risk/problem gambler, a previously hazardous alcohol drinker or past participation in free-to-play gambling-type games. These past behaviors could act as trigger points for health services or family and friends to monitor a person’s gambling behaviors during lockdown, or future stressful periods when usual terrestrial gambling opportunities are curtailed or unavailable, and to support safer gambling practices

Social Connectedness and Associations with Gambling Risk in New Zealand

Multiple factors are associated with disordered gambling, with some populations having a greater risk for developing disordered gambling than others. The present study, utilising data previously collected for a New Zealand (NZ) national gambling survey, explored the associations of social connectedness and leisure activities with risky gambling behaviour and quality of life. Poorer social connectedness and leisure activities were found to be associated with increased gambling risk and poorer quality of life, respectively. Social connectedness and leisure activities strongly predicted type of gambling activities and quality of life. Furthermore, Māori (NZ’s indigenous population) had lower social connectedness and fewer leisure activities, and a greater gambling risk, as well as higher psychological distress, than the NZ European/Other population. These findings indicate that the risk of progressing from recreational gambling to risky gambling is relatively higher for Māori, and that social connectedness and leisure activities could be contributing factors for this increased risk. It is, therefore, important that social connectedness and leisure activities are seriously considered in public health and treatment efforts to reduce gambling harm for vulnerable populations

Improved Client Outcome Services Project: An Intervention with Non-Benefiting Clients of Problem Gambling Treatment

Copyright © Masood Zangeneh, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Mental Health & AddictionA recent review of psychological and pharmacological treatments for pathological gambling revealed a paucity of evidence for their effectiveness (Oakley-Browne, Adams, & Mobberley, 2000). Data from a national client database in New Zealand suggest that up to a quarter of clients (depending on the measure used) have not benefited from treatment (Paton-Simpson, Gruys, & Hannifin, 2003). Clearly, there is a need for a treatment program to address the particular requirements of this group. This paper documents the development and piloting of a multimodal program for clients who have not previously benefited from program-gambling treatments. The program employed a composite approach of education and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. To the authors’ knowledge, there is no published evaluative research on the use of this approach with problem gamblers. The intervention was trialled in three treatment centres within New Zealand. Results indicate that the intervention positively affected several measures of gambling behaviour and self-reported well-beingYe

Culture, church, and collective: a qualitative study about gambling harm prevention and reduction in Aotearoa/New Zealand—a Tongan male perspective

Abstract Background In New Zealand, Pacific people continue to be more at risk of gambling harm than the general population, despite increasing public health efforts and treatment service provisions introduced to address this social and health issue. In looking at why this is so, our first concern was to ask why the delivery of the prevailing gambling-focussed programmes was not influencing Pacific gambling behaviours. In seeking to answer this question, it was important to explore ethnic-Pacific-specific factors of gambling harm prevention and reduction. Methods The research design was interpretivist/constructivist and phenomenological, applied through the lens of a Tongan worldview. Participants comprised Tongan male elders and youth. Recruitment of participants was through snowball sampling from churches and kava-drinking circles. A total of 28 elders and 18 youth participated through focus group talanoa and individual talanoa. This study employed descriptive thematic analysis. Results Participants were not aware of any policy document or problem-gambling preventative programmes. Four key themes were raised, which include raising the awareness of existing gambling harm treatment providers, the church influence in addressing gambling harm, community-based strategies, and cultural-based approaches. Conclusions This study proposes several recommendations such as more awareness of gambling harm providers in community, increasing cultural spaces and church engagements, and calls for further research in addressing the prevention and reduction of gambling harm amongst the Tongan community in New Zealand

Pacific Islands Families: The First Two Years of Life: Gambling Amongst Pacific Mothers

Copyright © Masood Zangeneh, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Mental Health & AddictionPacific peoples in New Zealand are at high risk of developing gambling-related problems; estimated to be six times more likely than the risk for New Zealand Europeans. However, there is a paucity of research investigating Pacific people’s gambling within a New Zealand context. This paper presents preliminary data, from the first data collection point, about gambling activity per se (as opposed to problem gambling) from a cohort of mothers who are part of the longitudinal Pacific Islands Families study. The data are analysed against various associated demographic and cultural variables. These early results indicate that cultural differences could play a part in gambling behaviour, for example, Tongans are more likely to gamble than Samoans, and those who partake in traditional gift giving customs are also more likely to gamble. Additionally, the data show an increased propensity for gambling amongst those with comorbid disorders, such as alcohol misuse.Ye