The association between at-risk gambling and binge drinking in the general Swedish population

Abstract

While the association between problem gambling and alcohol use disorders has been studied previously, little is known about the association between risk gambling and risk drinking. This study aimed at examining the association between at-risk gambling and binge drinking in the general Swedish population and to test whether this association remained after controlling for demographic factors. The data was part of a larger ongoing survey in the general Swedish population. Respondents (N = 19 530) were recruited through random digit dialing and interviewed about their alcohol habits (binge drinking), at-risk gambling (the Lie/Bet questionnaire) and demographics (gender, age, education, residence size, marital status, labor market status, country of origin and smoking). There was an association between lifetime at-risk gambling and current (12 months) weekly binge drinking for both men (OR = 1.73; CI 95%: 1.27–2.35) and women (OR = 2.27; CI 95%: 1.05–4.90). After controlling for demographics this association no longer remained significant (OR = 1.38; CI 95%; .99–1.90 for men and OR = 1.99; CI 95%: .94–4.66 for women). Age and smoking had the largest impact on this association. At-risk gambling and binge drinking are associated behaviors. However, it seems as if this association may be confounded by demographic variables. We hypothesize that similarities in personality profiles and health aspects could account for an additional part of the association.

Impulsivity, risk gambling, and heavy episodic drinking among adolescents: A moderator analysis of psychological health

“…Based on the three subquestions one dichotomous overall measure of risk gambling was constructed: Participants who responded at least “1–2 times” to any of the three subquestions were classified as engaging in risk gambling, while those who responded “Never” to all three subquestions (and those who stated that they had not gambled at all in the last 12 months) were classified as not engaging in risk gambling. A previous study using this definition of risk gambling revealed a prevalence rate of 3.5% (Brolin Låftman, Alm, Olsson, Sundqvist, & Wennberg, 2019), which is in line with other studies on risk gambling in Sweden (Sundqvist, Rosendahl, & Wennberg, 2015). In order to validate the measure, internal consistency of the set of items (Cronbach's α = 0.66) was examined and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted.…”

Future orientation, gambling and risk gambling among youth: a study of adolescents in Stockholm

“…The prevalence of risk gambling according to this definition is about 3.5 percent and in line with other Swedish studies (e.g. Sundqvist, Rosendahl, & Wennberg, 2015).…”

Collegiate Binge Drinking and Social Media Use Among Hispanics and Non-Hispanics

“…However, studies from the pathological gambling literature have already shown that electronic harm-reduction messages are optimally effective "in the moment" when messages create an interruption in play and require active removal by the player (Ginley et al, 2017). Both at-risk gambling and binge drinking feature episodic escalations in an addictive behavior (Sundqvist et al, 2015); thus, in-the-moment interventions might improve both conditions. We propose that, if BDs' concurrent use of alcohol and social media could be leveraged to inform the optimal timing and content of EMIs, then individually tailored harm-reduction messages delivered via social media while BDs are only moderately consuming alcohol (i.e., before signifi cant impairment) might be useful in preventing an episode of social drinking from escalating into a binge.…”