Abstract
Background and aims: It is common for gambling research to focus on problem and disordered gambling. Less is known about the prevalence of gambling-related harms among people in the general population. This study aimed to develop and validate the 18-item version of the Short Gambling Harms Screen (SGHS-18). Methods: Population-representative web-based and postal surveys were conducted in the three geographical areas of Finland (n = 7186, aged 18 or older). Reliability and internal structure of SGHS-18 was assessed using coefficient omega and via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Four measurement models of SGHS-18 were compared: one-factor, six-factor, a second-ordered factor model and a bifactor model (M4). Results: The analysis revealed that only the bifactor model had adequate fit for SGHS-18 (CFI = 0.953, TLI = 0.930, GFI = 0.974, RMSEA = 0.047, SRMR = 0.027). The general factor explained most of the common variance compared to specific factors. Coefficient omega hierarchical value for global gambling harm factor (0.80) was high, which suggested that SGHS-18 assessed the combination of general harm constructs sufficiently. The correlation with the Problem and Pathological Gambling Measures (PPGM) was 0.44, potentially reflecting that gambling harms are closely—although not perfectly—aligned with the mental health issue of problem gambling. SGHS-18 scores were substantially higher for participants who gambled more often, who spent more money or who had gambling problems, demonstrating convergent validity for the screen. Discussion: The SGHS-18 comprehensively measures the domains of gambling harm, while demonstrating desirable properties of internal consistency, and criterion and convergent validity.
Highlights
When Short Gambling Harms Screen (SGHS)-18 scores were examined by gambling frequency, gambling expenditure and by perceived gambling problem, SGHS-18 scores were higher for participants who gambled more often, who spent more money or who had gambling problems
Reliability and internal structure of SGHS-18 was examined by coefficient omega and using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)
A bifactor CFA showed good properties, explained common variance index (ECV) and omega hierarchical values for the general factor were much higher compared to specific factors, which suggested unidimensional structure of SGHS-18
Summary
There is not one internationally agreed definition of gambling harm [3,4,5], one practical definition is “any initial or exacerbated adverse consequence due to an engagement with gambling that leads to a decrement to the health or wellbeing of an individual, family unit, community or population” [2]. This definition usefully bases gambling harm within a public-health framework that is distinct from gambling-problems defined as a mental health concern.
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