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Gambling behavior and gambling problems in Norway 2007
Author(s) -
BAKKEN INGER JOHANNE,
GÖTESTAM K. GUNNAR,
GRÅWE ROLF W.,
WENZEL HANNE GRO,
ØREN ANITA
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.743
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1467-9450
pISSN - 0036-5564
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9450.2009.00713.x
Subject(s) - psychology , marital status , population , depression (economics) , affect (linguistics) , clinical psychology , psychiatry , demography , communication , sociology , economics , macroeconomics
In Norway, legalized gambling is pervasive, easily accessible and socially accepted, particularly the participation in national lotteries. We conducted a stratified probability sample study during January–March 2007 (age group 16–74 years, N = 3,482, response rate 36.1%) to assess gambling behavior and prevalence of problematic gambling by the NORC Diagnostic Screen (NODS). Overall, 67.9% of the study population had been engaged in past‐year gambling and 0.7% were past‐year problematic gamblers (NODS score 3+). Male gender, low educational level, single marital status, and being born in a non‐Western country were variables positively associated with problematic gambling. Past‐year problematic gamblers indicated the slot machine (34.6%) and Internet gambling (26.9%) as the most important games, while most non‐problematic gamblers pointed out the lotteries (62.3%) as the most important game. The prevalence of self‐reported sleeping disorders, depression and other psychological impairments was significantly higher among problematic gamblers. Gambling problems affect people's lives in multiple ways.