Gambling Research Reveals - Issue 3, Volume 6 - February / March 2007

7/31/2019 Gambling Research Reveals - Issue 3, Volume 6 - February / March 2007

1/4

The Alberta Gaming ResearchInstitute is a consortium of the Universities of Alberta,Calgary, and Lethbridge.Its primary purpose isto support and promote

research into gaming andgambling in the province. *

OUR MISSION

To significantly improveAlbertans knowledge of how gambling affects society

Research investigations have reported that a startlingly high proportion of adult prisoninmates participate in gambling-related activities. Thus, it would be of particularbenefit to understand why incarcerated individuals seem to be so captivated bygambling. Perhaps there are similarities between the individual characteristicsthat increase an individuals propensity to gamble, and their propensity to engage incriminal behaviours. University of Lethbridge undergraduate student Mike Morgan, alongwith Dr. Martin Lalumire, obtained a research grant from the Institute tofurther our understanding of these similarities as part of an investigation entitled

Delinquency and gambling: A pilot study of their relationship and common determinants

Morgans specific interest in issues relating to delinquency and deviance arose as a resultof coursework hed undertaken as part of his undergraduate program in psychology.

According to Morgan, An opportunity arise for meto work with Dr. Lalumiere and through discussionswith him and Dr. Rob Williams, we decided to gearmy honours thesis towards delinquency and gam-bling. When asked to briefly explain the term delin-quency, he responded that, For the purposes of thisstudy [it meant] antisocial behaviours, both criminaland non-criminal in nature... specifically activitiesthat involve elements of deception and the breakingof social contracts.

Measuring gambling, delinquent tendencies, and personality in subjectsThe method used to study the gambling-delinquency relationship involved recruiting asample of 180 males between the ages of 18 and 25 at the University of Lethbridge. Eachindividual was subjected to a series of psychological instruments used to assess theirgambling, antisocial/delinquent tendencies, and personality. Individuals were also askedto self-report on their mood at the time of the study. After completion of the moodassessment, subjects were asked to listen to one of three short pieces of music which wereintended to manipulate their moods to one three desired states: happy, sad, or neutral.

After the mood manipulation was complete, participants were directed to take part in a15-minute VLT gambling task. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of theobserver conditions (no observer, male observer, and female observer) and given $20 of

Delinquency among studentgamblers: A laboratory investigationby Rhys Stevens

VOLUME 6 / ISSUE 3FEBRUARY / MARCH 2007

GAMBLING

RESEARCH

REVEALS

Serious problem gam-blers, however, are nomore likely to engagein serious crime, unlessthey also possess seriouantisocial tendencies.


2/4


3/4

Fresh from completing my bachelorsdegree at the University of Calgary, I washired as a research assistant to interviewparticipants for the Leisure, Lifestyle,Lifecycle Project. This project is fundedby the Alberta Gaming Research Institute.It is a comprehensive five-year longitudi-nal study of gambling in Alberta involvingmultiple age cohorts.

Between February, 2006 and October,2006, I was part of the team whointerviewed a total of 1808 individuals.Each interview was comprised of two parts- computer-based questions and face-to-face questions administered by researchassistants with participants. Most peoplewere familiar enough with computers to beable to independently complete thisportion of the study. Some participants,particularly those from our senior cohort(63-65 years of age), were unfamiliar withcomputers and needed assistance. In someof these instances, research assistantstaught the willing responders how tooperate the computer and mouse. Theseindividuals were very patient in enduringthe extra hours to complete the computer-based portion of the interview.

It was my experience that many partici-pants preferred the face-to-face interviewsover the computer-based testing. TheWASI (Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of

Intelligence) test was a real favorite and itappeared to entertain many as it testedindividuals on their knowledge of wordsand ability to reason with shapes andpatterns. Many participants were surprisedto find how difficult it was for them todefine such common words as car ornumber. During the face-to-face portionof the interview, participants were alsoasked about particular experiences theydhad in the previous year. One questionhad to do with participants identifying anoutstanding personal achievement theydcompleted. Answers ranged from runningmarathons, publishing songs, climbingmountains, to fighting a disease.

Many of the participants wondered whenthey would see us research assistants againand this gave us hope that attrition wouldnot be a major problem over the nextfew years of the study. As the studyprogresses, Im looking forward to the pos-sibility of potentially undertaking follow-up interviews with some of these samestudy participants.

Stephanie Tilleman, B.A. (Psychology) is aresearch assistant with the Institutes

Leisure, Lifestyle, Lifecycle project. She iscurrently helping organize and review the raw data collected from participant interviews obtained during time period 1.

Many participantswere surprised to finhow difficult it was fthem to define suchcommon words ascar or number.

My experience with the leisure,lifestyle, lifecycle project: From

the desk of a research assistantby Stephanie Tilleman


4/4

Inter-Provincial Report Reviewsthe CPGI (Canadian ProblemGambling Index)The report Performance and enhancement

of the Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI): Report and recommendations (2006,September) by Healthy Horizons Consultingwas made available online in January, 2007.The report was co-funded by the Institutethrough a strategic partnership calledthe Inter-Provincial Funding Partnersfor Research into Problem Gambling.The partners issued a request in 2005for applications to conduct a review intothe experiences of principal investigators

with the Canadian Problem Gambling Index(CPGI). The Funding Partners are a consor-tium of provincially based organizations thatfund problem gambling research initiativesof common interest.

The complete report is available fromthe Institutes web site as part of theResearch > Strategic Partnerships &Collaborative Initiatives section.

New administrative assistant:Eva PangEva Pang was recently hired as the Institutesnew administrative assistant. She has been

working closely with Executive Director VickiiWilliams from the Institutes main office atthe University of Alberta since November,2006. Eva holds a B.A. (Psychology) fromthe University of Saskatchewan and a BFA(Technical Theatre Stage Management)from the University of Alberta.

Prior to joining AGRI, Eva worked inevents planning, as an assistant directoron independent short films and in stagemanagement on various productions forAlberta Opera,Edmonton Opera,The Banff Centre forthe Arts, TheatreProspero and WorkshopWest Theatre. She will be stage managing aproduction of Hamletby Theatre Prospero inApril. Welcome Eva!

ALBERTA GAMING RESEARCHINSTITUTE BOARD OF DIRECTORSDr. Nady el-Guebaly, Chair,

University of CalgaryDr. Dennis Fitzpatrick,

University of LethbridgeDr. Andrew Greenshaw,

University of Alberta

Dr. Chris Hosgood,University of LethbridgeMrs. Sheila Murphy, External

Member, Alberta GamingResearch Council

Dr. Douglas Peers,University of Calgary

Dr. Dan Mason,University of Alberta

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORVickii Williams

([email protected])

NODE COORDINATORSUniversity of Alberta:

Dr. Garry Smith([email protected])

University of Calgary:Dr. David Hodgins([email protected])

University of Lethbridge:Dr. Robert Williams([email protected])

INSTITUTE LIBRARIANRhys Stevens

([email protected])

Your comments and queries are welcomeeither by E- MAIL: [email protected]

PHONE: 780.492.2856

Rhys Stevens,Stephanie Tilleman& Eva Pang Writers

Vickii Williams EditorEpigrafix Design/LayoutMedia queries 780.492.2856

* The Institute is funded by the Albertagovernment through the Alberta LotteryFund.

ISSN 1911-8716 (Print) AGRI 2007ISSN 1911-8724 (Online)

4

From the Library...The Institutes three nodal research coordinators Dr. Garry Smith (U. of Alberta), Dr. DavidHodgins (U. of Calgary), and Dr. Robert Williams (U. of Lethbridge) are co-editors of the forth-coming book Research and Measurement Issues in Gambling Studies (ISBN: 978-0-12-370856-4)to be published by Elsevier in May, 2007.

It will be the first book to focus on the research and measurement issuesrelated to the emergent field of gambling studies. Researchers with diversebackgrounds will find that it offers a common starting point by explaining

the generally accepted knowledge in the area, research trends, andinformation gaps. International contributors provide commentary on themethodologies and measurement tools in use.

This title can be pre-ordered from Elseviers Science and Technology Booksweb site @ http://books.elsevier.com/ .

Photograph by Gordan Dum

Documents

Gambling Research Reveals - Issue 3, Volume 6 - February / March 2007