General Strain Theory (GST) suggests that addiction may arise from negative emotions caused by the experience of strain. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between strain experienced due to another person’s problem gambling and one’s own problem gambling. The researcher also examined whether gender impacted this relationship. Data were from the Baseline General Population Survey (BGPS) and the Baseline Online Panel Survey (BOPS) of the Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts (SEIGMA) study. This study focused on 5,852 participants who gambled regularly (i.e., monthly) in the past year.
Participants with problem gambling reported greater strain caused by someone else’s problem gambling. Having a spouse or partner whom they perceived to gamble too much was strongly linked to the participants’ own problem gambling. Male gender was the strongest predictor of problem gambling. Having a spouse or partner with problem gambling was also a significant predictor. Compared to women, the strain of having a spouse or partner whom they perceived to gamble too much was more strongly associated with men’s own problem gambling.
