Critical Literature Review of Risk Factors for Problematic Gambling [Article]

The March, 2009 issue of the Journal of Gambling studies contains a number of interesting articles... but unless you have a subscription to the journal, you won't be able to read them. The one exception is the "Open Access" article entitled "Risk Factors for Problematic Gambling: A Critical Literature Review" by Johansson et al.

According to Johansson and colleagues:

"The aim of the present study was to identify the existing empirical studies regarding the risk factors for the development and maintenance of pathological gambling. This is especially important for the implementation of prevention and treatment for PG." (p.88).

They note that:

"The critical review of 35 different factors or dimensions unfolded very few ‘‘well established risk factors for PG’’ (9 factors), where the conclusions could be supported by more than two studies. These were demographic variables (age, gender), cognitive distortions (erroneous perceptions, illusion of control), sensory characteristics, schedules of reinforcement, and comorbid states (OCD, drug abuse), and delinquency/illegal acts. Many categories (22) are considered to constitute probable risk factors (1–2 supporting studies)." (p.89).

If you're wondering about why Springer, the journal publisher, allowed only this particular article to be made available for free, you should read the web page How Springer Open Choice Works.