Gambling attitudes associated with problem gambling : the cohort effect of baby boomers

Abstract

The current study sought to examine the effects of gambling attitudes and beliefs on problem gambling behaviour across three cohorts, namely Generation X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent Generation. Individuals from Northern and Southern Ontario completed either an online or paper version of a questionnaire that included the Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI) and South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) to measure problem gambling, the Gambling Attitudes Scales (GAS) to measure gambling attitudes, and the Gambling Attitudes and Beliefs Survey (GABS), Gamblers’ Beliefs Questionnaire (GBQ), and Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS) to measure gambling beliefs. A sample of 308 participants consisted of 101 individuals from Generation X, 139 from the Baby Boom cohort, and 68 from the Silent Generation. Analyses focused on differences between Baby Boomers and their surrounding cohorts, but especially on differences between the older two cohorts. For Baby Boomers, higher scores on the GBQ Luck/Perseverance scale and GRCS Illusion of Control scale were associated with higher levels of problem gambling than the Silent Generation. However, Generation X’s scores on GBQ Luck/Perseverance were associated with higher levels of problem gambling than the Baby Boom cohort. Furthermore, higher levels of the Perceived Inability to Stop Gambling variable on the GRCS was more associated with problem gambling status in the Baby Boom cohort than the Silent Generation. Attitudes associated with problem gambling were not found to differ among cohorts. These results suggest that while cohorts may not differ in types or levels of distorted beliefs, they differ in how such distortions relate to problem gambling. Therefore, according to our results, Baby Boomers who have distortions about luck or illusions of control over gambling have higher levels of problem gambling than those with similar distortions from the Silent Generation