Development and Validation of a Near Miss Scale for Assessing Gambling Tendency

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Near-miss experiences are recognized indicators of gambling addiction.
• Existing measurement tools do not adequately assess near-miss feelings in gamblers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Near Miss Scale (NMS) for assessing gambling tendency.
• To provide a reliable instrument for quantifying near-miss experiences in gamblers.

Main Methods:

• Expert review of an initial 38-item tool, resulting in a 32-item pre-form.
• Data collection from 563 gamblers using NMS, Gambling Craving Scale (GCS), and South Oaks Gambling Screening Test (SOGST).
• Statistical analysis including item-total correlation, factor analysis, and reliability testing (Cronbach's alpha, test-retest).

Main Results:

• The final Near Miss Scale (NMS) consists of 30 items with factor loadings between .715 and .896.
• Confirmatory factor analysis supported a valid one-factor model for the NMS.
• NMS demonstrated strong positive correlations with GCS (r=0.752) and SOGST (r=0.601).
• The scale exhibited high reliability, with Cronbach's alpha of 0.981 and test-retest reliability of 0.972.

Conclusions:

• The 30-item, one-dimensional Near Miss Scale (NMS) is a valid and reliable instrument.
• NMS effectively assesses gambling tendency and related psychological constructs.
• The developed scale can aid in the identification and study of gambling addiction.