Validation of the 8-item Attitudes Towards Gambling Scale (ATGS-8) in a British population survey

Abstract

5 6Introduction. Public opinions concerning gambling are an important factor in shaping public 7 policy. Little empirical attention has been given to assessing gambling attitudes within the general 8 population. The aim of the present study is to validate the 8-item Attitudes Towards Gambling 9Scale (ATGS-8) in British individuals and to investigate associations of these attitudes with 10 frequency of gambling and gambling problems. 11 Methods. Data were derived from 7746 individuals participating in the British Gambling 12Prevalence Survey 2010, a comprehensive interview-based survey conducted in Great Britain 13 between November 2009 and May 2010. Confirmatory factor analysis and separate regression 14 analyses were applied. 15Results. The one-dimensional structure of the ATGS-8 was confirmed in the community sample 16 and by gender. Furthermore, more positive attitudes towards gambling were positively related to 17 frequency of gambling and gambling problems. 18Conclusions. The present study extends the previous evaluations of the scale by providing detailed 19 evidence for the utility and usefulness of the ATGS-8 in a community sample and across gender. 20The ATGS-8 is a valid instrument to assess public opinion on gambling among the general 21 Introduction 39Problem gambling is a public health concern in many European countries (Molinaro et al., 40 2014; Volberg, Gupta, Griffiths, Olason, & Delfabbro, 2010) and it has been associated with 41 significant health and psychosocial problems (Abbott et al., 2013; Lorains, Cowlishaw, & Thomas, 42 2011). The widespread growth of gambling over the past 20 years has placed the regulation of 43 gambling at the foreground of social issues for many governments around the world. As a 44 consequence of a 'policy paradigm shift' concerning public policy towards gambling (Smith et al., 45 2011), governments have to shape policy in accordance with the parameters of what the public 46 regards as acceptable (McAllister, 2014). In order to implement effective best practice for the 47 regulation of gambling, there is a need to have robust knowledge based on empirical evidence 48 concerning the opinions on gambling regulation within the general population. 49Despite an extensive focus in gambling studies on cognitive biases and errors associated 50 with gambling (see Spurrier & Blaszczynski, 2014, for a recent review), few studies have surveyed 51 opinions on gambling regulation within the general population at a national level. Previous national 52 studies have shown that overall public attitudes towards gambling appear to be negative in Great 53Britain (Orford, Griffiths, Wardle, Sproston, & Erens, 2009), Finland (Salonen et al., 2014 and 54Australia (McAllister, 2014). The theory of planned behavior (Ajzen 1991;2011) suggested that a 55 person's attitude towards behaviors, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control influenced 56 individuals' behavioral intentions and behavior. Previous studies have found that more favorable 57 attitudes towards gamb...

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