Gorenko Julie A
Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
J Gambl Stud. 2025 Mar;41(1):333-352. doi: 10.1007/s10899-024-10344-0. Epub 2024 Sep 5.
Older adults are receiving increased attention in gambling research, in part because gambling and related problems appear to be increasing in this population. To date, little or no research has examined the complexities of gambling and later-life circumstances, including life events, and individual and social factors. This study utilized longitudinal data (5 waves) from older adults (60 + ; N = 670) in the Quinte Longitudinal Study (Williams et al., in: The Quinte longitudinal study of gambling and problem gambling 2006-2011, Bay of Quinte region, Ontario, 2014). Longitudinal multilevel models examined between- and within-person effects of stressful life events on gambling frequency and Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) scores, and the possible moderating role of individual (age, gender, mental health, physical health) and social variables (marital status, social support) on this relationship. Results of the final model showed significant effects (p < .01) for linear time (PGSI scores declined across waves; β = - .06); gender (women's mean PGSI greater than men's; γ = .26); social support (less support associated with greater PGSI; γ = .05); and an interaction between age and stressful life events (effect of stressful events on PGSI is lesser with greater age; γ = - .02). Simple slopes (at mean age of 66 at wave 1, and ± 1SD) showed that at 61 (γ = .35) and 66 years (γ = .23), mean PGSI scores were greater with each additional stressful life event; there was no significant effect for stressful events at age 71. These findings suggest women, those with less social support, and greater stressful life events may be at greater risk of problem gambling, while greater age weakens the effect of stressful events and problem gambling.
老年人在赌博研究中受到越来越多的关注，部分原因是赌博及相关问题在这一人群中似乎呈上升趋势。迄今为止，很少或几乎没有研究探讨赌博与晚年生活状况的复杂性，包括生活事件以及个人和社会因素。本研究使用了来自昆特纵向研究（威廉姆斯等人，载于：《2006 - 2011年昆特赌博与问题赌博纵向研究》，安大略省昆特湾地区，2014年）中老年人（60岁及以上；N = 670）的纵向数据（5个波次）。纵向多层次模型研究了应激性生活事件对赌博频率和问题赌博严重程度指数（PGSI）得分的个体间和个体内效应，以及个人（年龄、性别、心理健康、身体健康）和社会变量（婚姻状况、社会支持）对这种关系可能的调节作用。最终模型的结果显示，线性时间（PGSI得分在各波次中下降；β = -0.06）、性别（女性的平均PGSI高于男性；γ = 0.26）、社会支持（支持越少，PGSI越高；γ = 0.05）以及年龄与应激性生活事件之间的交互作用（年龄越大，应激事件对PGSI的影响越小；γ = -0.02）均有显著效应（p < 0.01）。简单斜率（在第1波次平均年龄66岁时，±1个标准差）显示，在61岁（γ = 0.35）和66岁（γ = 0.23）时，每增加一个应激性生活事件，平均PGSI得分就越高；在71岁时，应激事件没有显著影响。这些发现表明，女性、社会支持较少的人以及应激性生活事件较多的人可能面临更高的问题赌博风险，而年龄越大，应激事件和问题赌博的影响就越弱。
