Volitional degrees of gambling behaviors

Predictors of gambling behavior were examined in an application of Fishbein and Ajzen's theory of reasoned/planned action. The study focuses on explai ning the volitional and nonvolitional aspects of gambling behavior. Based o n an empirical data set, this study found that the theory of reasoned/plann ed action could be a useful study tool. Results indicated that decisions to gamble are largely a volitional process for casual participants. The level of previous gambling activity was also found to share variance with future gambling behavior, which pointed to a nonvolitional aspect. This article i ncludes discussions on the implications of the findings and develops sugges tions for future research. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserv ed.