TY - JOUR
T1 - Is a sense of community belonging associated with problem gambling in Canada?
AU - Izutsu, Masato
AU - Suzuki, Etsuji
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank Dr. Mieke Koehoorn and Dr. Ashleigh Rich from the University of British Columbia for their valuable comments when writing this manuscript. We also thank Edanz Group (https://en-author-services.edanzgroup.com/) for editing a draft of this manuscript.
Funding Information:
This study was partly supported by the Okayama Medical Research Association. ES is supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (KAKENHI Grant numbers JP19KK0418, JP20K10471, JP18K10104, and JP20K10499).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, Springer-Verlag GmbH, DE part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2021/10
Y1 - 2021/10
N2 - Purpose: Despite the increasing demand for public health measures to prevent problem gambling, few studies have examined the association between community characteristics and problem gambling. The aim of this nationally representative cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationship between a sense of community belonging and problem gambling in Canada. We also examined whether this relationship was modified by sex and marital status. Methods: Canadian Community Health Survey (2013–2014) data from 38,968 residents of Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and British Columbia were analyzed. Problem gambling was assessed using the Canadian Problem Gambling Index. We estimated the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for problem gambling. Results: The prevalence of problem gambling was 1.4% (1.9% among males; 0.9% among females). We observed an inverse dose–response relationship between a sense of community belonging and problem gambling. Compared with those with a very strong sense of community belonging, the adjusted ORs for problem gambling were 1.07 (95% CI 0.65–1.76) for a somewhat strong sense, 1.27 (95% CI 0.77–2.11) for a somewhat weak sense, and 2.32 (95% CI 1.34–4.02) for a very weak sense of community belonging. The association was more prominent among females (except for those widowed/divorced/separated), whereas no clear association was found among males, irrespective of marital status. Conclusion: When implementing public health measures to reduce problem gambling, it would be useful to account for possible differential impacts of a sense of community belonging by sex and marital status, which may reflect significant social contexts among residents.
AB - Purpose: Despite the increasing demand for public health measures to prevent problem gambling, few studies have examined the association between community characteristics and problem gambling. The aim of this nationally representative cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationship between a sense of community belonging and problem gambling in Canada. We also examined whether this relationship was modified by sex and marital status. Methods: Canadian Community Health Survey (2013–2014) data from 38,968 residents of Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and British Columbia were analyzed. Problem gambling was assessed using the Canadian Problem Gambling Index. We estimated the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for problem gambling. Results: The prevalence of problem gambling was 1.4% (1.9% among males; 0.9% among females). We observed an inverse dose–response relationship between a sense of community belonging and problem gambling. Compared with those with a very strong sense of community belonging, the adjusted ORs for problem gambling were 1.07 (95% CI 0.65–1.76) for a somewhat strong sense, 1.27 (95% CI 0.77–2.11) for a somewhat weak sense, and 2.32 (95% CI 1.34–4.02) for a very weak sense of community belonging. The association was more prominent among females (except for those widowed/divorced/separated), whereas no clear association was found among males, irrespective of marital status. Conclusion: When implementing public health measures to reduce problem gambling, it would be useful to account for possible differential impacts of a sense of community belonging by sex and marital status, which may reflect significant social contexts among residents.
KW - Canada
KW - Problem gambling
KW - Sense of community belonging
KW - Social capital
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U2 - 10.1007/s00127-021-02040-w
DO - 10.1007/s00127-021-02040-w
M3 - Article
C2 - 33586005
AN - SCOPUS:85100861887
VL - 56
SP - 1871
EP - 1880
JO - Social Psychiatry
JF - Social Psychiatry
SN - 0037-7813
IS - 10
ER -