Gooding Nolan Brian, Sinclair Eliscia Siu-Lin Liang, Murch W Spencer, Kim Hyoun Soo, McGrath Daniel S, Hodgins David Carson
University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
J Gambl Stud. 2025 Jun 4. doi: 10.1007/s10899-025-10404-z.
Numerous studies report sex differences in the prevalence of problem gambling (PG), but the etiological basis of these differences across recognized risk factors is unclear. Data from a large, nationally-stratified Canadian survey (n = 10,044) were used to explore whether sex moderates relationships between PG and its risk factors, including (1) gambling participation, (2) gambling motivations, (3) mental health, and (4) substance use. The sample was 53.6% female, had a mean age of 52.4 years (SD = 15.4), and 61.8% had Northern/Western European heritage. The magnitude of the relationship between sixteen (44%) study variables and PG varied between sexes, though these effects were generally small. These variables include: (1) past month participation in lotteries, electronic gambling machines, sports betting, bingo, and financial speculation; (2) all measures of gambling intensity (breadth, frequency, expenditure); (3) enhancement and coping motivations for gambling; and (4) five additional substance use and mental health variables. With the exception of past month bingo participation, posttraumatic stress disorder, history of substance-related problems, negative life events, and impulsivity, these effects were larger for females relative to males. Finally, multivariate analyses revealed notable differences in the risk factors for PG, with variation in male PG being uniquely explained by gambling to develop skill, substance use disorder, negative life events, and age, and variation in female PG being uniquely explained by online gambling, breadth of gambling involvement, and coping motives. These findings highlight potential sex-specific pathways to PG that should be the subject of future research.
许多研究报告了问题赌博（PG）患病率的性别差异，但这些差异在公认风险因素中的病因基础尚不清楚。来自一项大型的、全国分层的加拿大调查（n = 10,044）的数据被用于探讨性别是否调节了PG与其风险因素之间的关系，这些风险因素包括：（1）赌博参与情况；（2）赌博动机；（3）心理健康状况；（4）物质使用情况。样本中女性占53.6%，平均年龄为52.4岁（标准差 = 15.4），61.8%有北欧/西欧血统。16个（44%）研究变量与PG之间关系的强度在性别之间有所不同，尽管这些影响通常较小。这些变量包括：（1）过去一个月参与彩票、电子赌博机、体育博彩、宾果游戏和金融投机的情况；（2）所有赌博强度的衡量指标（广度、频率、支出）；（3）赌博的增强和应对动机；（4）另外五个物质使用和心理健康变量。除了过去一个月参与宾果游戏、创伤后应激障碍、与物质相关问题的病史、负面生活事件和冲动性外，女性相对于男性的这些影响更大。最后，多变量分析揭示了PG风险因素的显著差异，男性PG的差异由为提高技能而赌博、物质使用障碍、负面生活事件和年龄唯一解释，女性PG的差异由在线赌博、赌博参与广度和应对动机唯一解释。这些发现突出了PG潜在的性别特异性途径，应成为未来研究的主题。
