Abstract
The goals of this study were to estimate the levels of involvement in gambling and gambling disorders among Polish prisoners and to identify selected psychosocial factors associated with gambling activities. The study was conducted in randomly selected penitentiaries with therapeutic and non-therapeutic programmes. It covered 1219 male prisoners and used a specially designed 75-item questionnaire, including South Oaks Gambling Screen. About 29.4% of prisoners had exhibited pathological gambling symptoms at some point in their lives (based on South Oaks Gambling Screen). Pathological gamblers were characterised by: city residence, not being educated above lower-secondary, being single, having other gamblers and pathological gamblers among their close friends or family and use of psychoactive substances while gambling. Pathological gamblers were motivated by the desire to win, to escape from problems and to experience powerful emotions. The prevalence of gambling disorders in the prison population suggests that there is a need for systemic action to be introduced to prevent the development of pathological gambling in penitentiaries and also within groups at risk of criminal activity.
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