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Locating gambling problems across a continuum of severity: Rasch analysis of the Quinte Longitudinal Study (QLS)
S Cowlishaw1, S S Merkouris2, N A Dowling3
1Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Australia; Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, United Kingdom.
Addictive Behaviors
|December 23, 2018
Summary
Understanding gambling problems requires assessing low and severe levels. This study mapped problematic gambling behaviors and harms, finding few indicators for low severity gambling issues, highlighting a need for better measurement.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Public Health
- Statistics
Background:
- Addressing gambling problems necessitates understanding the full spectrum of severity.
- Current measures may not adequately capture low-severity gambling issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To map problematic gambling behaviors and harms across a continuum.
- To identify effective indicators for low-severity gambling problems for assessment and prevention.
Main Methods:
- Rasch analysis of baseline data from the Quinte Longitudinal Study (QLS).
- Utilized 26 items from Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), NORC DSM Screen for Gambling Problems (NODS), and Problem and Pathological Gambling Measure (PPGM).
- Involved 1305 adult participants from Belleville, Canada.
Main Results:
- Most items fit the Rasch model, clustering near addictive disorder levels.
- Few items effectively represented low-severity gambling problems.
- Differential Item Functioning (DIF) was observed for several low-severity indicators.
Conclusions:
- Existing measures are well-suited for discriminating severe problem gambling.
- Cognitive-affective and behavioral indicators are the best current measures for low-severity symptoms.
- There is a critical need to improve the conceptualization and measurement of low-severity gambling problems.
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