Gambling is an extremely popular activity which can lead to the development of gambling problems. Gambling harms are negative consequences that affect finances, physical and mental health, and other important areas of life. Various measures have been created to assess gambling harms. However, there is need for a brief measure that captures all seven domains of gambling harms proposed in the research literature.
In this study, the researchers created and evaluated a new, brief measure of gambling harms called the 7-item domain-general harm scale (DGHS-7). The researchers administered a survey to 2558 adults in the United Kingdom that included measures of problem gambling, well-being, gambling harms, and the DGHS-7. They found that the DGHS-7 is a valid and reliable measure, supporting the use of the DGHS-7 as a brief measure of gambling harms. This brief measure is valuable to researchers and clinicians who may need to quickly examine gambling harms in research or clinical populations.
