Feasibility of Brief Screening for At-Risk Gambling In Consumer Credit Counseling
Author
Sacco, PaulFrey, Jodi J
Callahan, Christine, Ph.D.
Hochheimer, Martin
Imboden, Rachel
Hyde, Devon
Date
2019-02-19Journal
Journal of Gambling StudiesPublisher
SpringerType
Article
Metadata
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Brief Screening in Credit CounselingAbstract
Gambling disorder and problem gambling often lead to major suffering in the form of mental health problems, interpersonal conflict, and financial crises. One potential setting for detecting at-risk gambling is credit counseling as gambling problems may manifest themselves in the form of financial distress and bankruptcy. Research studies have not considered those seeking credit counseling as individuals at risk for gambling problems even though gambling may contribute to financial distress. Therefore, the current study sought to quantify the prevalence of at-risk gambling in credit counseling compared with national estimates, to compare at-risk gamblers in this population to lower risk individuals, and to assess the feasibility of gambling screening in these settings. Using a mixed methods approach, the current study found that almost 20% of callers to a national agency reported gambling behavior, and among those who gambled, they reported higher rates of problems related to gambling than the broader U.S. population, thus supporting the idea that screening in credit counseling may help identify those at risk. Low risk gamblers were slightly younger than non-gamblers, but no other differences in sociodemographic and financial status variables were found based on gambling risk status. Results from focus groups and individual interviews suggest that credit counselors and program administrators see the benefit to brief screening within their intake and counseling processes. Our findings suggest that gambling screening is feasible in consumer credit counseling and may be acceptable to staff and administrators at these agencies.Description
Prepublication version.Citation
Sacco, P., Jacobson Frey, J., Callahan, C., Hochheimer, M., Imboden, R. & Hyde, D. (2019 February). Feasibility of Brief Screening for At-Risk Gambling In Consumer Credit Counseling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 1-17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-019-09836-1Sponsors
National Council on Responsible GamblingKeyword
credit counselingscreening
gambling disorder
at-risk gambling
Brief Biosocial Gambling Screen
consumer credit counseling
Gambling
Consumer credit
Debt
Compulsive gamblers
Identifier to cite or link to this item
http://hdl.handle.net/10713/12050ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-019-09836-1