Loss of control as a discriminating factor between different latent classes of disordered gambling severity

James, Richard J.E.; O'Malley, Claire; Tunney, Richard J.

Abstract

Analyses of disordered gambling assessment data have indicated that commonly used screens appear to measure latent categories. This stands in contrast to the oft-held assumption that problem gambling is at the extreme of a continuum. To explore this further, we report a series of latent class analyses of a number of prevalent problem gambling assessments (PGSI, SOGS, DSM-IV Pathological Gambling based assessments) in nationally representative British surveys between 1999 and 2012, analysing data from nearly fifty thousand individuals. The analyses converged on a three class model in which the classes differed by problem gambling severity. This identified an initial class of gamblers showing minimal problems, a additional class predominantly endorsing indicators of preoccupation and loss chasing, and a third endorsing a range of disordered gambling criteria. However, there was considerable evidence to suggest that classes of intermediate and high severity disordered gamblers differed systematically in their responses to items related to loss of control, and not simply on the most ‘difficult’ items. It appeared that these differences were similar between assessments. An important exception to this was one set of DSM-IV criteria based analyses using a specific cutoff, which was also used in an analysis that identified an increase in UK problem gambling prevalence between 2007 and 2010. The results suggest that disordered gambling has a mixed latent structure, and that present assessments of problem gambling appear to converge on a broadly similar construct.

Citation

James, R. J., O'Malley, C., & Tunney, R. J. (2016). Loss of control as a discriminating factor between different latent classes of disordered gambling severity. Journal of Gambling Studies, 32(4), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-016-9592-z

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 25, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Feb 18, 2016
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jan 26, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 18, 2016
• Journal: Journal of Gambling Studies
• Print ISSN: 1050-5350
• Electronic ISSN: 1573-3602
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 4
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-016-9592-z
• Keywords: Problem gambling, gambling prevalence, latent class analysis, assessment
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/831286
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10899-016-9592-z
• Contract Date: Jan 26, 2016