In search of lower risk gambling levels using behavioral data from a gambling monopolist.

Background And Aims: Lower-risk recommendations for avoiding gambling harm have been developed as a primary prevention measure, using self-reported prevalence survey data. The aim of this study was to conduct similar analyses using gambling company player data.

Methods: The sample (N = 35,753) were Norsk Tipping website customers.

Developing and validating lower risk online gambling thresholds with actual bettor data from a major Internet gambling operator.

Objective: To help individuals avoid potential negative consequences associated with their gambling, researchers have developed lower risk limits for time and financial involvement among populations of land-based gamblers. The present study extended these efforts to online gambler populations with prospective longitudinal data.

Method: We used receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and logistic regression models predicting a positive Brief Biosocial Gambling Screen (BBGS; Gebauer et al.

Association of emergency department boarding times on hospital length of stay for patients with psychiatric illness.

Background: Extended periods awaiting an inpatient bed in the emergency department (ED) may exacerbate the state of patients with acute psychiatric illness, increasing the time it takes to stabilise their acute problem in hospital. Therefore, we assessed the association between boarding time and hospital length of stay for psychiatric patients.

Methods: ED clinical records were linked to inpatient administrative records for all patients with a primary psychiatric diagnosis admitted to a Calgary, Alberta hospital between April 2014 and March 2018.

A meta-analysis of problem gambling risk factors in the general adult population.

Background And Aims: Few meta-analyses have been conducted to pool the most constant risk factors for problem gambling. The present meta-analysis summarizes effect sizes of the most frequently assessed problem gambling risk factors, ranks them according to effect size strength and identifies any differences in effects across genders.

Method: A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted on jurisdiction-wide gambling prevalence surveys on the general adult population published until March 2019.

Gambling Self-Control Strategies: A Qualitative Analysis.

There is limited research exploring the perceptions of people who gamble on the self-control strategies used to limit their gambling. This qualitative study examines self-control strategies used to limit money spent gambling, frequency of gambling, and time spent gambling. A total of 56 people who gamble (27 males and 29 females) participated in nine focus groups and five individual interviews in Montreal, Calgary, and Toronto (Canada).

Predicting future harm from gambling over a five-year period in a general population sample: a survival analysis.

Background: There is little longitudinal evidence on the cumulative risk of harm from gambling associated with excess spending and frequency of play. The present study sought to assess the risk of gambling problems over a five-year period in adults who exceed previously derived low-risk gambling limits compared to those who remain within the limits after controlling for other modifiable risk factors.

Methods: Participants were adults (N = 4212) drawn from two independent Canadian longitudinal cohort studies who reported gambling in the past year and were free of problem gambling at time 1.

Validation of a Comprehensive Patient Experience Survey for Addiction and Mental Health that was Co-designed with Service Users.

A rigorous survey development process was undertaken to design and test a novel, comprehensive patient experience measure that can be used across the full continuum of addiction and mental health programs. Service users were involved in all aspects of the measure's development, including the selection of items, pre-testing, naming of the scales, and interpretation of the results. Survey data was collected from 1222 patients in treatment in a variety of service settings across Alberta, Canada (89% outpatients; 60% female).

Use of Self-control Strategies for Managing Gambling Habits Leads to Less Harm in Regular Gamblers.

There is little research on the control strategies used by the general public to self-manage gambling habits and avoid harmful consequences. The current study sought to identify the most common self-control strategies of people who gamble regularly, the characteristics of those who use them, and assess the effectiveness of limit-setting strategies in reducing gambling-related harm. We recruited a large sample (N = 10,054) of Canadian adults who reported gambling activity in the past 12 months.

Deriving low-risk gambling limits from longitudinal data collected in two independent Canadian studies.

Aims: To derive low-risk gambling limits using the method developed by Currie et al. (2006) applied to longitudinal data.

Design: Secondary analysis of data from the Quinte Longitudinal Study (n = 3054) and Leisure, Lifestyle and Lifecycle Project (n = 809), two independently conducted cohort studies of the natural progression of gambling in Canadian adults.

Problem gambling symptomatology and alcohol misuse among adolescents: A parallel-process latent growth curve model.

The objective of the current study was to examine the possible temporal associations between alcohol misuse and problem gambling symptomatology from adolescence through to young adulthood. Parallel-process latent growth curve modeling was used to examine the trajectories of alcohol misuse and symptoms of problem gambling over time. Data were from a sample of adolescents recruited for the Leisure, Lifestyle, and Lifecycle Project in Alberta, Canada (n = 436), which included 4 assessments over 5 years.

Professional autonomy and work setting as contributing factors to depression and absenteeism in Canadian nurses.

Objectives: The prevalence of major depression in Canadian nurses is double the national average for working women. The present study sought to delineate the role of professional autonomy, health care setting, and work environment characteristics as risk factors for depression and absenteeism in female nurses.

Methods: A cross-sectional, secondary analysis was conducted on a large representative sample of female nurses working in hospitals and other settings across Canada (N = 17,437).

Comorbid Problem Gambling and Major Depression in a Community Sample.

Major depression is among the most common comorbid conditions in problem gambling. However, little is known about the effects of comorbid depression on problem gambling. The present study examined the prevalence of current major depression among problem gamblers (N = 105) identified from a community sample of men and women in Alberta, and examined group differences in gambling severity, escape motivation for gambling, family functioning, childhood trauma, and personality traits across problem gamblers with and without comorbid depression.

Receiving workplace mental health accommodations and the outcome of mental disorders in employees with a depressive and/or anxiety disorder.

Objectives: To investigate the association between receiving workplace accommodations and the 1-year risk of mood/anxiety disorders.

Methods: A general population sample of employees in Alberta, Canada, with a prior or current mental disorder (N = 715) was observed for 1 year. Mental disorders were determined on the basis of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th revision, criteria.

Validation of the problem gambling severity index using confirmatory factor analysis and rasch modelling.

The Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), a screening tool used to measure the severity of gambling problems in general population research, was subjected to confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch modelling to (a) confirm the one-factor structure; (b) assess how well the items measure the continuum of problem gambling severity; (c) identify sources of differential item functioning among relevant subpopulations of gamblers. Analyses were conducted on a nationally representative sample of over 25,000 gamblers compiled by merging data from the Canadian Community Health Survey and Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI) integrated datasets. Results provided support for a one-factor model that was invariant across gender, age, income level, and gambler type.

A population-based longitudinal study on work environmental factors and the risk of major depressive disorder.

To investigate the relation between work environmental factors and the risk of major depressive disorder (MDD) over 1 year, the authors conducted a population-based longitudinal study of randomly selected employees in Alberta, Canada (January 2008 to November 2011). Participants without a current or lifetime diagnosis of MDD at baseline (n = 2,752) were followed for 1 year. MDD was assessed using the World Health Organization's Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Auto 2.

Validity of the Problem Gambling Severity Index interpretive categories.

The Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) is a widely used nine item scale for measuring the severity of gambling problems in the general population. Of the four gambler types defined by the PGSI, non-problem, low-risk, moderate-risk and problem gamblers, only the latter category underwent any validity testing during the scale's development, despite the fact that over 95% of gamblers fall into one of the remaining three categories. Using Canadian population data on over 25,000 gamblers, we conducted a comprehensive validity and reliability analysis of the four PGSI gambler types.

Business mergers and acquisitions and the risk of mental disorders: a population-based study.

Objectives: Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities are increasing and may negatively affect workers mental health. However, the impact of M&A on the risk of developing a mental disorder, rather than psychiatric symptoms, has not been investigated. The objectives of this study were to estimate and compare the 12-month incidence of depressive and anxiety disorders in workers who had and who had not experienced M&A in the last year.

Perceived needs for and use of workplace accommodations by individuals with a depressive and/or anxiety disorder.

Objective: To estimate the percentages of need for and use of workplace mental health accommodations, and to identify factors related to the use of accommodations.

Methods: Participants with a mental disorder, identified from the community, were questioned about need for and use of workplace accommodations (n = 784). Mental disorders were assessed using the World Health Organization's Composite International Diagnostic Interview.

Examining the predictive validity of low-risk gambling limits with longitudinal data.

Aims: To assess the impact of gambling above the low-risk gambling limits developed by Currie et al. (2006) on future harm. To identify demographic, behavioural, clinical and environmental factors that predict the shift from low- to high-risk gambling habits over time.

Chronic conditions and major depression in community-dwelling older adults.

Objectives: To estimate (1) the prevalence of long-term medical conditions and of comorbid major depression, and (2) the associations between major depression and various chronic medical conditions in a general population of older adults (over 50 years of age) and in persons who are traditionally classified as seniors (65 years and older).

Methods: Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey- Mental Health and Wellbeing (CCHS-1.2) were analyzed.

Stacked Deck: an effective, school-based program for the prevention of problem gambling.

School-based prevention programs are an important component of problem gambling prevention, but empirically effective programs are lacking. Stacked Deck is a set of 5-6 interactive lessons that teach about the history of gambling; the true odds and "house edge"; gambling fallacies; signs, risk factors, and causes of problem gambling; and skills for good decision making and problem solving. An overriding theme of the program is to approach life as a "smart gambler" by determining the odds and weighing the pros versus cons of your actions.

The impact of opening a smoking room on psychiatric inpatient behavior following implementation of a hospital-wide smoking ban.

Background: Psychiatric patients are significantly more likely to smoke than mentally healthy persons, presenting a challenge for inpatient psychiatric care when smoking bans are instituted.

Objective: To assess the impact of opening a smoking room within a psychiatric unit following a hospital smoking ban.

Study Design: A staff survey and a chart review of 180 inpatient admissions before and after the opening of a smoking room.

Randomized trial of brief motivational treatments for pathological gamblers: More is not necessarily better.

The efficacy of brief treatments for media-recruited pathological gamblers was tested in a randomized clinical trial design (N = 314). Two self-directed motivational interventions were compared with a 6-week waiting list control and a workbook only control. Brief motivational treatment involved a telephone motivational interview and a mailed self-help workbook.