RESEARCH QUESTION
How often do older adults gamble as a social activity?
PURPOSE
While research has examined youth gambling extensively, older adult gamblers have been neglected despite the growing number of older adult gamblers. The current study took first steps in providing explicit and direct evidence of older adult gambling as a social activity.
HYPOTHESIS
None stated.
PARTICIPANTS
Participants were the activity directors that collected and returned the completed questionnaires from the older adults. The activity directors were recruited from 29 Senior Centers, 15 Assisted-Care Retirement Centers, 4 Nursing Homes, and a Church-sponsored program. Incomplete questionnaires were discarded. The response rate was 62% (N = 50 directors). The sample of older adults reached 6,957 participants.
PROCEDURE
The questionnaires were mailed out to activity directors, who then distributed them to the older adults. The questionnaire included 17 questions designed to be brief, factually oriented, and forced-choice for ease of completion.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
The questionnaire was devised from a list of possible activities available to senior citizens (ages 65 and older) in the local area of the participants, such as bingo, hobbies and crafts, restaurant trips, day trips to the mall, libraries or zoo, museums churches, local music or theatre, gambling casinos, sporting events, and day trips to play keno. The questionnaire focused on demographics and number of older adults that engage in each social activity, the activity and frequency of participation in each activity across the older adults, and the availability and sources of transportation for the social activities.
KEY RESULTS
Results showed gambling to be the most popular social activity among older adults. As reported by the activities directors, 23% of older adults played bingo more than 4 times a month and 16% participated in day trips to the casino on at least a monthly basis. Gambling activities were significantly more frequented than other types of social activities, such as the 14% that attended museums, libraries, or the zoo. The majority of facilities had their own transportation to the designated social activities; however some did accept casino-sponsored transportation.
LIMITATIONS
None stated.
CONCLUSIONS
The findings from this study suggested that older adults (over 65 years old) have discovered casino gambling as a mainstream social activity that earlier in life might have been considered a sin. It could be the case that the research previously done with younger adults could apply to older adults as well. The implications of this study highlight the need for greater awareness of the impact of casino gambling may have on older adults.