Maternal experiences of ethnic discrimination and subsequent birth outcomes in Aotearoa New Zealand

Background Interpersonal discrimination experience has been associated with adverse birth outcomes. Limited research has evaluated this relationship within multicultural contexts outside the United States where the nature and salience of discrimination experiences may differ. Such research is important in order to help identify protective and risk factors that may mediate the relationship between discrimination experience and adverse birth outcomes. Methods Evaluated the relationship between perceived discrimination, as measured in pregnancy, with birth weight and gestation length among Māori, Pacific, and Asian women from Aotearoa New Zealand (N = 1653). Results Thirty percent of the sample reported some type of unfair treatment that they attributed to their ethnicity. For Māori women specifically, unfair treatment at work (β = − 243 g) and in acquiring housing (β = − 146 g) were associated with lower birth weight when compared to Māori women not experiencing these types of discrimination, while an ethnically motivated physical attack (β = − 1.06 week), and unfair treatment in the workplace (β = − 0.95 week), in the criminal justice system (β = − 0.55 week), or in banking (β = − 0.73 week) were associated with significantly shorter gestation. Conclusions Despite a high prevalence of discrimination experience among women from all ethnic groups, discrimination experience was a strong predictor of lower birth weight and shorter gestation length among indigenous Māori women only. Additional research is needed to better understand the risk and protective factors that may moderate the relationship between discrimination experience and adverse birth outcomes among women from different ethnic groups

Financially focused self-concept is associated with etiological and maintenance factors of gambling disorder among non-problem gamblers

We examined associations between financially focused self-concept and known etiological and maintenance factors of problematic gambling in a sample of community-based gamblers (N =412). Although most participants (95.6%) did not report gambling problems, those high in financial focus were more likely to be impulsive, to be dissatisfied with their financial situation, to believe that they have a poor ability to cope with adversity in their life, and to have erroneous beliefs about gambling. The magnitude of these associations was moderate. The etiological risk and maintenance factors explained unique variance in financially focused self-concept. Thus, the results provide novel insight into the characteristics of financially focused gamblers

An examination of the validity and reliability of the Positive Play Scale: findings from a Canadian national study

The Positive Play Scale (PPS) is a self-report measure that assesses responsible gambling beliefs and behaviours amongst players. The PPS was shown to be a reliable and valid measure that consisted of four subscales: Personal Responsibility, Gambling Literacy, Honesty and Control, and Pre-commitment. However, the PPS development research had limitations, including the use of an exploratory statistical approach, treating the non-normally distributed PPS item-level data as continuous, and the use of samples that consisted mainly of older players living in British Columbia, Canada. Herein, we replicated and extended the four-factor structure of the PPS using exploratory structural equation modelling with PPS item-data modelled as ordered categorical in a large and demographically diverse sample of players from across Canada (N = 5751). Once again, the four-factor structure of the PPS provided an excellent fit to the data. PPS factors were all internally consistent. Results also replicated and extended findings from prior research. Specifically, all PPS subscales were negatively correlated with measures of disordered gambling beliefs and behaviours, risk factors (e.g. impulsivity) and gambling motives (e.g. financial). Findings indicate that the PPS is a reliable and valid tool that assesses responsible gambling beliefs and behaviours, which can be used to inform responsible gambling initiatives