LIFETIME PREVALENCE ESTIMATES OF PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLING IN NEW-ZEALAND

Background. Legalized gambling has proliferated recently in many count ries and is a public health issue because of the association between g ambling participation and the prevalence of pathological gambling. Rel atively little is known about the epidemiology of this disorder or the characteristics of pathological gamblers living in the community. Thi s paper summarizes the major findings of a national prevalence survey of pathological gambling conducted in New Zealand; the first national survey to have been conducted to date, and compares them with the resu lts of studies undertaken in the US and Canada. Methods. A national ad ult sample of 4053 people was interviewed by telephone to determine in volvement in gambling activities. The interview included the South Oak s Gambling Screen (SOGS) for pathological gambling. Results, Of the sa mple, 2.7% (+/- 0.5%) scored as probable pathological gamblers and a f urther 4.2% (+/- 0.6%) scored as problem gamblers. These prevalence ra tes are higher than those reported in previous studies using the SOGS. Ethnicity, age, gender, employment status, having a parent who had ga mbling problems and regular participation in continuous forms of gambl ing were major risk factors. Conclusions. In New Zealand pathological gambling appears to have a lifetime prevalence approximately half that of drug abuse/dependence. The findings suggest that prevalence has in creased in recent years and provide a baseline for further study. The risk factors identified give a focus for future research into aetiolog y, prevention and treatment.