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Exploring problem gambling, loneliness and lifetime suicidal behaviours: a cross-sectional study using the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007

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Reports


Author(s): John, Ann ; Lee, Sze C. ; Wardle, Heather ; MaManus, Sally ; Dymond, Simon

Publisher: Gambling Commission

Year Published: 2019

Date Added: July 29, 2019

Resource Type: Research report

Gambling is now recognized as a public health concern in England. An earlier report based on the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey APMS 2007 found that problem gamblers were much more likely than non-problem gamblers to either have had suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide in the past year. This report uses the same dataset to explore the extent to which loneliness may be associated with gambling and self harm, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts. The APMS 2007 is a general population survey of England with 6941 respondents

The researchers divided the 6941 survey respondents into three groups: problem gamblers, at-risk gamblers, and non-problem gamblers including non-gamblers. Problem gamblers were morely likely to feel lonely than the other two groups, and problem gamblers also had higher levels of lifetime suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and suicide attempts compared to non-gamblers.

Analysis found that loneliness consistently co-occured with problem gambling and suicidality, but the association between problem gambling and suicidality persisted independent of loneliness. Many other issues were important factors in the association with problem gambling and suicidality, including smoking, , alcohol and substance misuse, and poor physical and mental health. The results suggest that addressing loneliness may reduce risks of suicidein some problem gamblers, but the results are highly preliminary an further investigation is needed.

This report is part of a three-report series on gambling and suicide in England. The other reports and an executive summary of all three reports are linked below.


Citation: John, A., Lee, S.C., Wardle, H., MaManus, S., & Dymond, S. (2019). Exploring problem gambling, loneliness and lifetime suicidal behaviours: a cross-sectional study using the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007. Birmingham, UK: Gambling Commission. Available from https://www.begambleaware.org/sites/default/files/2020-12/report-2-gambling-sh-and-loneliness.pdf

Keywords: loneliness ; mental health ; problem gambling ; suicidality ; suicide

Topics: Comorbidities ; Suicide

Conceptual Framework Factors:   Psychological - Comorbid Disorders ; Psychological Factors

Geographic Coverage: United Kingdom, England

Source: GambleAware

Source Type: Not-for-Profit

Related Resources:
  • Gambling related suicide research - summary
  • Scoping current evidence and evidence-gaps in research on gambling-related suicide
  • Problem gambling and suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-harm in England: evidence from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007
  • Adult psychiatric morbidity in England, 2007: Results of a household survey
  • Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, 2007

Declaration:

The research questions for Reports 1 and 3 were developed and set by the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling and the project was commissioned by GambleAware, via a competitive tender process. The research question for Report 2 was agreed with GambleAware.

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    • What We Do
    • Team
    • Our Philosophy
    • Board of Directors
    • Join Us
  • Services
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Applied Research
    • Knowledge Products 
    • Knowledge Management
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    • Impact Evaluation
    • Project Consulting
  • Resources
    • Conceptual Framework of Harmful Gambling
    • Data Repository
    • Evidence Centre
    • Gambling from a Public Health Perspective
    • Prevention and Education Review: Gambling-Related Harm
    • Research to Inform Action Evidence Hub
    • Safer Gambling Evaluation Evidence Hub
    • Resources for Safer Gambling During COVID-19
  • Partners
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    • Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling (AFSG)
    • National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms in Great Britain
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