Centre for Population Health Research, Faculty of Health, School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
Faculty of Business, School of Management, Operations and Marketing, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.
Harm Reduct J. 2018 Apr 24;15(1):22. doi: 10.1186/s12954-018-0227-9.
Women's participation in, and harm from gambling, is steadily increasing. There has been very limited research to investigate how gambling behaviour, product preferences, and perceptions of gambling harm may vary across subgroups of women.
This study surveyed a convenience sample of 509 women from Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. Women were asked a range of questions about their socio-demographic characteristics and gambling behaviour. Focusing on four gambling products in Australia-casino gambling, electronic gambling machines (EGMs), horse betting, and sports betting-women were asked about their frequency of participation, their product preferences, and perceptions of product harms. The sample was segmented a priori according to age and gambling risk status, and differences between groups were identified using Chi-square tests and ANOVAs. Thematic analysis was used to interpret qualitative data.
Almost two thirds (n = 324, 63.7%) of women had engaged with one of the four products in the previous 12 months. Compared to other age groups, younger women aged 16-34 years exhibited a higher proportion of problem gambling, gambled more frequently, and across more products. While EGMs were the product gambled on most frequently by women overall, younger women were significantly more likely to bet on sports and gamble at casinos relative to older women. Qualitative data indicated that younger women engaged with gambling products as part of a "night out", "with friends", due to their "ease of access" and perceived "chance of winning big". There were significant differences in the perceptions of the harms associated with horse and sports betting according to age and gambling risk status, with younger women and gamblers perceiving these products as less harmful.
This study highlights that there are clear differences in the gambling behaviour, product preferences, and perceptions of product harms between subgroups of women. A gendered approach will enable public health researchers and policymakers to ensure that the unique factors associated with women's gambling are taken into consideration in a comprehensive public health approach to reducing and preventing gambling harm.
女性参与赌博以及受到赌博伤害的比例正在稳步上升。目前，仅有非常有限的研究调查了女性群体中不同亚组的赌博行为、产品偏好和对赌博伤害的认知可能存在哪些差异。
本研究调查了来自澳大利亚维多利亚州和新南威尔士州的 509 名女性的便利样本。这些女性被问及一系列关于其社会人口统计学特征和赌博行为的问题。研究聚焦于澳大利亚的四种赌博产品——赌场赌博、电子赌博机、赛马投注和体育博彩，调查女性参与赌博的频率、产品偏好和对产品危害的认知。该样本根据年龄和赌博风险状况进行了预先分段，然后使用卡方检验和方差分析来确定组间差异。采用主题分析方法来解释定性数据。
将近三分之二（n=324，63.7%）的女性在过去 12 个月内参与了上述四种产品中的一种。与其他年龄组相比，16-34 岁的年轻女性表现出更高的赌博问题比例，更频繁地赌博，并且涉及更多的产品。尽管电子赌博机是女性总体上最常参与的赌博产品，但年轻女性相对年长女性更有可能参与体育博彩和赌场赌博。定性数据表明，年轻女性将赌博产品作为“夜生活”、“与朋友一起”的一部分，因为它们“易于获得”并且有“赢得大奖的机会”。根据年龄和赌博风险状况，不同年龄段的女性对赛马投注和体育博彩相关危害的认知存在显著差异，年轻女性和赌徒认为这些产品的危害较小。
本研究表明，女性群体中存在明显的赌博行为、产品偏好和对产品危害的认知差异。采取性别化的方法将使公共卫生研究人员和政策制定者能够确保在全面的公共卫生方法中考虑到与女性赌博相关的独特因素，以减少和预防赌博伤害。
