Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

SY17-4 * PREVALENCE OF PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLING IN JAPAN: RESULTS OF NATIONAL SURVEYS OF THE GENERAL ADULT POPULATION IN 2008 AND 2013

2014; Oxford University Press; Volume: 49; Issue: suppl 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/alcalc/agu052.75

1464-3502

Tomomi Toyama, Hideki Nakayama, Tsuyoshi Takimura, Atsushi Yoshimura, Hitoshi Maesato, Sachio Matsushita, Yoneatsu Osaki, Susumu Higuchi,

Gambling Behavior and Treatments

Introduction. A meta-analysis of 119 studies performed in North America found that the lifetime prevalences of pathological gambling in adults are 1.6 percent. We conducted national surveys on addictive behavior to estimate the prevalence of pathological gambling. Methods. A survey of 7,500 men and women ( >= 20 years) was performed; the sampling was obtained from the total Japanese adult population stratified using a two-stage random sampling in 2008. An South Oaks Gambling Screen score of five points or more was defined as a pathological gambler. The follow-up survey was performed in 2013. Results. The prevalence of pathological gambling was estimated to be 9.04% among men and 1.6% among women in 2008. No significant relationships between the rate of pathological gambling and education, marital status, occupation, or income level were seen. The vast majority of male pathological gamblers (93%) used Pachinko as a gambling tool. Similar results were shown in the 2013 survey. Conclusion. This study revealed that the prevalence of pathological gambling, especially among men, was much higher in Japan than in other countries. Pachinko was very popular and was strongly suggested to have contributed to this heightened prevalence.