Prevalence and implications of gambling problems among firefighters
| Autor: | Mark Hinton, A Savic, Meaghan O'Donnell, David Forbes, Jonathon Little, Alexander C. McFarlane, Ellie Lawrence-Wood, Sean Cowlishaw, M. Van Hooff, Olivia Metcalf, Nicole Sadler, Alyssa Sbisa |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male Adolescent media_common.quotation_subject 030508 substance abuse Medicine (miscellaneous) Context (language use) Patient Health Questionnaire Toxicology Severity of Illness Index 03 medical and health sciences Young Adult 0302 clinical medicine medicine Humans 030212 general & internal medicine media_common Addiction Australia Middle Aged medicine.disease Mental health Substance abuse Behavior Addictive Psychiatry and Mental health Clinical Psychology Psychosocial Functioning Cross-Sectional Studies Mental Health Firefighters Gambling Anxiety medicine.symptom 0305 other medical science Psychology Addictive behavior Psychosocial Clinical psychology |
| Zdroj: | Addictive behaviors. 105 |
| ISSN: | 1873-6327 |
| Popis: | Firefighting is a high-risk occupation that accounts for vulnerability to a range of mental health problems and addictive behaviours. However, no research has addressed whether this vulnerability extends to gambling problems, and the aim of this study was thus to provide new data on frequency and implications of such problems in this occupational context. The sample consisted of n = 566 career and retained firefighters who participated in a cross-sectional survey of an Australian metropolitan fire service. The Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) was used to operationalise both clinically significant levels of problem gambling (PGSI ≥ 5), and 'at-risk' gambling (PGSI 1-4); alongside measures of major depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PCL-5) and alcohol problems (AUDIT), as well as other addictive behaviours, wellbeing and psychosocial issues. Results indicated 12.3% of firefighters that reported any gambling problems across a continuum of severity (PGSI ≥ 1), including 2.3% that were problems gamblers, and 10.0% reporting at-risk gambling. The weighted prevalence of problem gambling was comparable to other significant mental health conditions including depression and PTSD, while the rate of any gambling problems was high relative to other addictive behaviours. Gambling problems were associated with poor mental health and wellbeing, but not psychosocial indicators (e.g., financial difficulties). The findings suggest that gambling problems across a spectrum of severity may be significant yet hidden issues among emergency service workers, and thus require increased recognition and responses at the organisational level. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|
Full Text from ScienceDirect