Stressful Life Events Precede Gambling Problems, and Continued Gambling Problems Exacerbate Stressful Life Events; A Life Course Calendar Study

Do stressful life events cause gambling problems, or do gambling problems cause stressful life events? This study used a retrospective design to examine the temporal order of these associations. Specifically, the study employed a life course calendar in a self-directed online survey to minimise memory biases common in retrospective designs. A total of 1,564 US respondents who had gambled at any point in their life (51.0% female, median age 46) were asked whether, for each year of their adult life, they had experienced each of eight stressful life events, and whether they had engaged in casual or heavy gambling, drinking or drug use, with heavy gambling defined in line with a problem gambling definition. We found that five stressful life events were associated with the onset of heavy gambling: work issues, financial issues, legal issues, relationship issues and the death of a loved one. The same five stressful life events predict the cessation of an episode of heavy gambling, indicating a possible tendency for gambling problems to self-resolve in the presence of stress. Insights are also gained into comorbidities with alcohol and drug use, and the course of stressful life events and gambling and substance use throughout the life course, albeit with a non-representative sample. The methodology allows tentative conclusions in terms of possible causation pathways, indicating that stressful life events may play a role both in the onset and the maintenance (or cessation) of gambling problems.

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Stressful life events, the incidence of infertility, and the moderating effect of maternal responsiveness: a longitudinal study

Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease ◽

10.1017/s2040174420000690 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Jessica L. Gleason ◽

Edmond D. Shenassa ◽

Marie E. Thoma

Keyword(s):

Life Course ◽

Life Events ◽

Stressful Life Events ◽

Early Adulthood ◽

Life Course Perspective ◽

Stressful Life ◽

Temporal Association ◽

Close Relative ◽

Maternal Responsiveness ◽

Logistic Regression Models

Abstract Although the association between stress and poor reproductive health is well established, this association has not been examined from a life course perspective. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 cohort (N = 1652), we fit logistic regression models to test the association between stressful life events (SLEs) (e.g., death of a close relative, victim of a violent crime) during childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood and later experiences of infertility (inability to achieve pregnancy after 12 months of intercourse without contraception) reported by female respondents. Because reactions to SLEs may be moderated by different family life experiences, we stratified responses by maternal responsiveness (based on the Conger and Elder Parent-Youth Relationship scale) in adolescence. After adjusting for demographic and environmental factors, in comparison to respondents with one or zero SLEs, those with 3 SLEs and ≥ 4 SLEs had 1.68 (1.16, 2.42) and 1.88 (1.38, 2.57) times higher odds of infertility, respectively. Respondents with low maternal responsiveness had higher odds of infertility that increased in a dose–response manner. Among respondents with high maternal responsiveness, only those experiencing four or more SLEs had an elevated risk of infertility (aOR = 1.53; 1.05, 2.25). In this novel investigation, we demonstrate a temporal association between the experience of SLEs and self-reported infertility. This association varies by maternal responsiveness in adolescence, highlighting the importance of maternal behavior toward children in mitigating harms associated with stress over the life course.

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Predicting Future Harm from Gambling over a Five-Year period in a General Population Sample: A Survival Analysis

10.21203/rs.3.rs-42471/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Shawn Currie ◽

David Hodgins ◽

Robert Williams ◽

Kirsten Fiest

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Life Events ◽

Stressful Life Events ◽

Low Risk ◽

Stressful Life ◽

Gambling Problems ◽

Electronic Gaming Machines ◽

Risk Gambling ◽

Gaming Machines ◽

Over Time

Abstract Background There is little longitudinal evidence on the cumulative risk of harm from gambling associated with excess spending and frequency of play. The present study sought to assess over a five-year period the risk of gambling problems in adults who exceed previously derived low-risk gambling limits compared to those who remain within the limits after controlling for other modifiable psychosocial risk factors. Methods Participants were adults (N = 4212) drawn from two independent Canadian longitudinal cohort studies (Quinte Longitudinal Study and Leisure, Lifestyle, and Lifecycle Project) who reported gambling in the past year and were free of problem gambling at time 1. Multivariate Cox regression was employed to assess the impact of gambling above low-risk gambling thresholds (frequency ≥ 8 times per month; expenditure ≥ $75CAN per month; percent of household income spent on gambling ≥ 1.7%) on developing gambling problems over time. Covariates included presence of a DSM 5 addiction or mental health disorder at time 1, irrational gambling beliefs, number of stressful life events in past 12 months, number of game types played each year, and playing electronic gaming machines or casino games. Results In both samples, exceeding the low-risk gambling limits at time 1 significantly increased the risk of moderate harm within five years after controlling for other modifiable risk factors. Other significant predictors of harm were presence of a mental disorder at time 1, cognitive distortions about gambling, stressful life events, and playing electronic gaming machines or casino games. In the QLS sample, the five-year cumulative survival rate among individuals who stayed below all the low-risk limits was 95% compared to 83% among gamblers who exceeded all limits. Each additional low-risk limit exceeded increased the cumulative probability of harm by 30%. Conclusions Level of gambling involvement represents a highly modifiable risk factor for later harm. Staying below empirically derived safe gambling thresholds reduces the risk of harm over time.

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