The impact of having a spouse or cohabitating partner experiencing problem gambling on mental health and emotional wellbeing

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Author(s): Tipping, Sarah ; Wardle, Heather ; Pryce, Robert

Journal: Addiction

Year Published: 2025

Date Added: December 17, 2025

The purpose of this study was to examine the link between a person’s mental health and emotional wellbeing and their spouse or cohabitating partner’s Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) score. The researchers used data from the Health Survey for England (HSE) and the Scottish Health Survey (SHeS). They identified households with married or cohabitating couples, where both partners completed the PGSI. In total, there were 20,742 participants, which made up 10,367 couples. Only those cases where one person in the couple had a PGSI score of 0, but their partner had a score of 0–27, were kept in the analysis to reduce the risk of the person’s own gambling harms influencing the findings.

The findings suggest that participants whose partners had higher PGSI scores had worse mental health and emotional wellbeing, and lower life satisfaction. This association remained even after controlling for the participants’ own gambling and other sociodemographic and individual characteristics. There was no evidence of an association between a partner’s PGSI score and a long-term physical or mental health condition.

Citation: Tipping, S., Wardle, H., & Pryce, R. (2025). Exploring the impact on emotional wellbeing of having a spouse or cohabitating partner with elevated Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) scores: Secondary analysis of cross-sectional health survey data. Addiction. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70154

Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70154

Keywords: affected others ; Concerned Significant Other (CSO) ; gambling ; harms ; mental health ; problem gambling ; Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) ; spouse ; well-being

Topics: Gambling Assessment ; Gambling Related Harms

Conceptual Framework Factors: Psychological Factors ; Social - Family and Peer Gambling Involvement ; Social Factors ; Psychological - Subjective Well-Being

Study Design: Secondary Data Analysis

Geographic Coverage: Scotland ; United Kingdom, England

Study Population: People at least 16 years old (N=20,091) who were in a couple relationship, where both partners had completed the Problem Gambling Severity Index. People whose own PGSI score was greater than 0 were excluded.

Sampling Procedure: Secondary data from the 2018 Health Survey for England (HSE) and the 2012, 2015, 2016, and 2017 Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) were used.

Study Funding:

This project is funded by the NIHR (NIHR Unique Identifier = NIHR206123). Any views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.