1 School of Psychology, Forensic and Clinical Research Group, University of Lincoln , Lincoln, UK.
2 International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University , Nottingham, UK.
J Behav Addict. 2018 Mar 1;7(1):137-145. doi: 10.1556/2006.7.2018.18. Epub 2018 Feb 28.
Background To inform clinical treatment and preventative efforts, there is an important need to understand the pathways to late-life gambling disorder. Aims This study assesses the association between age-related physical health, social networks, and problem gambling in adults aged over 65 years and assesses the mediating role of affective disorders in this association. Methods The sample comprised 595 older adults (mean age: 74.4 years, range: 65-94 years; 77.1% female) who were interviewed using a structured questionnaire to assess physical frailty, geriatric pain, loneliness, geriatric depression, geriatric anxiety, and problem gambling. Results Pathway analysis demonstrated associations between these variables and gambling problems, providing a good fit for the data, but that critically these relationships were mediated by both anxiety and depression symptoms. Conclusions This study indicates that late-life problem gambling may develop as vulnerable individuals gamble to escape anxiety and depression consequent to deteriorating physical well-being and social support. When individuals develop late-life problem gambling, it is recommended that the treatment primarily focuses upon targeting and replacing avoidant coping approaches.
为了指导临床治疗和预防措施，我们需要深入了解导致老年人出现赌博障碍的途径。
本研究旨在评估与年龄相关的身体健康状况、社交网络与 65 岁以上成年人中出现的赌博问题之间的关系，并评估情感障碍在这种关联中的中介作用。
该样本由 595 名老年人（平均年龄：74.4 岁，范围：65-94 岁；77.1%为女性）组成，他们接受了结构化问卷的采访，以评估身体虚弱、老年疼痛、孤独、老年抑郁、老年焦虑和赌博问题。
路径分析表明，这些变量与赌博问题之间存在关联，为数据提供了良好的拟合度，但至关重要的是，这些关系是由焦虑和抑郁症状所介导的。
本研究表明，老年人的赌博问题可能是由于身体状况恶化和社交支持减少导致的焦虑和抑郁而出现的，脆弱的个体可能会通过赌博来逃避这些问题。因此，当老年人出现赌博问题时，建议治疗主要集中在针对和替代回避应对方式上。
