Correlates of pathological gambling propensity in prison inmates

The South Oaks Gambling Inventory was administered to 136 consecutively admitted inmates in a medium-security prison in Nevada. According to the criteria of the authors of this instrument, 22.79% of these inmates had some problem and 26% were probable pathological gamblers. Significant positive correlations with the F, depression, psychopathic deviate, psychasthenia, paranoia, schizophrenia, and Mac Andrew alcoholism scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) were found. Gambling score was negatively correlated with the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices measure of intelligence. Clinical implications are suggested.