Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2012 Sep;67(5):639-52. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbs068. Epub 2012 Aug 28.
With the rapid aging of the population and the increased availability of gambling facilities over the past three decades, older adults may gamble more and may be increasingly at risk for problem gambling (PG) or pathological gambling disorder (PGD). To facilitate a better understanding of gambling behavior among older adults that will inform preventive strategies, this article systematically examined empirical studies on issues related to older adults' gambling.
This article reviewed 75 empirical studies including data on the distribution and determinants of PG and PGD and the outcomes of gambling.
This review used the broad term of "disordered gambling" as a means to explain a continuum of problems caused by PG and PGD. The analyses covered seven topics concerning older adults' gambling behaviors: Participation rates for gambling, prevalence rates of disordered gambling, motivation for initially beginning to gamble, risk and protective factors for disordered gambling, and negative and positive health outcomes from gambling.
Based on research gaps identified in the review, this article proposes six recommendations for future studies focusing on well-being of older adults who gamble, research method issues, and taking into account older adults' inspirations and adjustment to the aging process in the 21st century.
在过去三十年中，随着人口老龄化的加速和赌博设施的可用性增加，老年人可能会更多地赌博，并且越来越有患上赌博问题（PG）或病态赌博障碍（PGD）的风险。为了更好地了解老年人的赌博行为，从而为预防策略提供信息，本文系统地研究了与老年人赌博相关的实证研究。
本文回顾了 75 项实证研究，包括有关 PG 和 PGD 的分布和决定因素以及赌博结果的数据。
本文使用“赌博障碍”这一广义术语，作为解释由 PG 和 PGD 引起的一系列问题的手段。分析涵盖了有关老年人赌博行为的七个主题：赌博的参与率、赌博障碍的流行率、最初开始赌博的动机、赌博障碍的风险和保护因素，以及赌博对健康的负面影响和积极影响。
基于综述中确定的研究差距，本文提出了六项未来研究的建议，重点关注参与赌博的老年人的幸福感、研究方法问题，并考虑到老年人在 21 世纪适应老龄化过程的灵感和调整。
