Successful aging and gambling: Predictors of gambling risk among Las Vegas seniors

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-2007

Publication Title

American Behavioral Scientist

Volume

51

Issue

1

First page number:

102

Last page number:

121

Abstract

Using a sample of 449 Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, residents ages 55 and older, the authors examine predictors of past-year and lifetime risk for problem gambling behavior. They examine the salience of gambling opportunities for the respondents' decision to move to Las Vegas and whether they currently gamble as a significant part of their recreation. Bivariate analyses show the importance of gambling opportunities for predicting at-risk status. Logistic regression analyses demonstrate that those who currently use gambling as a significant part of their recreation are 4 times more likely than others to be at risk. Furthermore, respondents who primarily play video poker are twice as likely as others to be at risk. Respondents' race, income, and length of time living in Las Vegas also predict at-risk behavior. The authors discuss the implications of these findings and their relationships to the aging, gambling, and problem gambling literatures.

Keywords

Aging; Compulsive gamblers; Compulsive gambling; Gambling opportunities; Nevada – Las Vegas; Older gamblers; Older people; Problem gambling

Disciplines

Family, Life Course, and Society | Personality and Social Contexts | Social Psychology and Interaction | Sociology

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or use interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the article. Publisher copyright policy allows author to archive post-print (author’s final manuscript). When post-print is available or publisher policy changes, the article will be deposited

Publisher Citation

Preston, F. W., Shapiro, P. D., & Keene, J. R. (2007). Successful aging and gambling. American Behavioral Scientist, 51(1), 102-121. doi:10.1177/0002764207304850

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