Centre de recherche Douglas

Objectives:Within the field of gambling research, an emerging body of literature has begun to examine the associations between neighborhood context and gambling outcomes (i.e., gambling participation and problems). Previous research has been heavily focused on objective measures of neighborhood influence with few studies examining subjective (i.e., perceived) neighborhood attributes as they relate to gambling outcomes. This study aimed to expand knowledge of the effects of neighborhood characteristics on gambling patterns and problems.Methods: Using data derived from the fourth wave of an epidemiological community sample (n = 1862), this study explores the associations between perceived neighborhood contextual factors and gambling participation and problems.Results: Our findings reveal that community participation was positively related to gambling participation, even after accounting for control variables (i.e., sex and social support). Perceived neighborhood disorder was positively associated with problem gambling.Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of looking beyond individual risk factors for gambling outcomes. Population-based interventions for gambling problems may benefit from understanding how neighborhood contexts come into play.