Chinese Gamblers Research Articles

The Profiles of Gamblers Seeking Counseling Services Evidence from Chinese Gamblers in Hong Kong

This study maps the demographic profiles of 4,480 clients of ten problem gambling services in Hong Kong. It attempts to identify help-seekers' characteristics associated with gender, adolescent onset of gambling, and suicidal thoughts/attempts. This aggregation of data to form a gambler service user profile among Hong Kong Chinese is the first of its kind. Service and research implications are discussed.

Impulsivity as a Moderator and Mediator Between Life Stress and Pathological Gambling among Chinese Treatment-Seeking Gamblers

This study examined the role of impulsivity and its interplay with gambling correlates in influencing the severity of pathological gambling in Chinese societies. It also investigated the extent to which impulsivity would moderate and/or mediate the relationship between life stress and pathological gambling in 94 Chinese treatment-seeking gamblers. Results of a hierarchical regression analysis showed that years of gambling, life stress, and impulsivity were significant correlates of pathological gambling. Post-hoc analyses of a significant impulsivity x life stress 2-way interaction effect indicated that life stress was significantly associated with pathological gambling among participants with low impulsivity only, whereas pathological gambling remained high regardless of the stress level among participants with high impulsivity. Bootstrapping results also showed that impulsivity partially mediated the influence of life stress on pathological gambling. Findings have implications for gambling treatment programs.

Pathways to Development of Problem Gambling among Chinese Gamblers in Hong Kong: Validation of the Blaszczynski and Nower (2002) Model

Abstract This study investigated the pathway to development of problem gambling in treatment-seeking gamblers attending a self-help group in Hong Kong. A total of 17 problem gamblers (15 men, 2 women; aged from 22 to 58 years) were interviewed and categorized according to the Blaszczynski and Nower (2002) pathways model. It was found that the majority of treatment-seeking gamblers were behaviorally conditioned gamblers. Gamblers of this type often reported an early involvement in gambling during childhood as part of family activities. They recalled an early win in their gambling history. Unlike gamblers with emotional problems in the Wood and Griffiths (2007) study, behaviorally conditioned gamblers exhibited little or no emotional problems before the onset of gambling problems. Further, their excessive gambling appears to be confounded with poor decision-making and a lack of effective coping skills. The findings of the current study also highlight the importance of family upbringing in the development of problem gambling.

Pathways to Development of Problem Gambling among Chinese Gamblers in Hong Kong: Validation of the Blaszczynski and Nower (2002) Model

This study investigated the pathway to development of problem gambling in treatment-seeking gamblers attending a self-help group in Hong Kong. A total of 17 problem gamblers (15 men, 2 women; aged from 22 to 58 years) were interviewed and categorized according to the Blaszczynski and Nower (2002) pathways model. It was found that the majority of treatment-seeking gamblers were behaviorally conditioned gamblers. Gamblers of this type often reported an early involvement in gambling during childhood as part of family activities. They recalled an early win in their gambling history. Unlike gamblers with emotional problems in the Wood and Griffiths (2007) study, behaviorally conditioned gamblers exhibited little or no emotional problems before the onset of gambling problems. Further, their excessive gambling appears to be confounded with poor decision-making and a lack of effective coping skills. The findings of the current study also highlight the importance of family upbringing in the development of problem gambling.

Gambling cognition and subjective well-being as mediators between perceived stress and problem gambling: A cross-cultural study on White and Chinese problem gamblers.

This study aimed to delineate various pathways whereby cognitive and emotional vulnerabilities triggered by stress would lead to disruptive gambling. A multiple mediation framework was proposed to specify that gambling cognition and subjective well-being would mediate the influence of perceived stress on problem gambling. The cross-cultural validity of the proposed framework was examined with 132 White gamblers in Australia and 154 Chinese gamblers in China. They completed psychological scales on perceived stress, gambling expectancy bias, gambling refusal efficacy, negative affect, life satisfaction, and problem gambling. Compared to Chinese gamblers, White gamblers reported higher levels of perceived stress, gambling expectancy bias, and problem gambling as well as more pervasive negative affect and lower levels of life satisfaction. Results showed that the proposed multiple mediation framework fit the data better than two alternative plausible models. Life satisfaction and gambling refusal efficacy were two consistent mediators across White and Chinese gamblers.

Importance of Service Elements Among Chinese Gamblers Visiting Macau

Casino gaming is a common form of entertainment in many countries, and the casino gaming industry worldwide is expanding at a rapid pace (Lee et al., 2006). Macau is one of the main locations of the gaming industry in East/Southeast Asia, and is a key part of the economy in Macau. The gaming industry accounted for 83 percent of tax revenue in 2010 (Macau FSB 2011), and also accounted for 14 about percent of Macau’s total employment (Macau DSEC 2008). However, while the industry is thriving, it is a very competitive environment, and individual casinos need to understand their well to attract customers.We specifically examined the importance of various service elements among casino goers visiting Macau from Hong Kong and mainland China. This sort of information is critical in making decisions about details of the marketing mix for various segments (e.g., Wind & Bell 2007). Rϋck & Mende (2008) recommend more extensive use of segmentation analysis in the tourism industry. In this spirit, here we examine importance by home of the visitor (HK, China), marital status, and age, although this is only the preliminary step toward more detailed segmentation analysis.Respondents were asked about what attributes were important in their decision to visit one casino over another. The twenty attributes were mostly taken from Shoemaker and Zemke (2005), with slight adaptation and a few additional questions to reflect Macao’s unique situation. For example, one question asks about the transportation link between Macau’s ferry port or the border gate to different casinos. Questions used a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (highly unimportant) to 5 (highly important). The questionnaire was designed in Chinese, and tested in a small pilot of eight casino players to check the relevance and clarity of the questions. On average, respondents took 10 minutes to complete the questionnaire and reported no problems understanding it, so that no changes were required. The main survey was administered in July 2010 in face-to-face interviews with Chinese gamblers through convenience sampling outside ten large casinos. Twenty University of Macau students who were fluent in both Cantonese and Mandarin conducted the interviews. The researchers provided training and on-site demonstration of conducting the interview, and supervised the fieldwork. A total of 371 completed questionnaires were collected, 168 Hong Kong Chinese, and 203 mainland Chinese. (There were also 29 Taiwanese, but this sub-sample was too small for meaningful analysis as a separate segment, and the data on Taiwanese casino goers is not used here.)Factor analysis of these importance ratings yielded six factors accounting for about 58 percent of variance. These six factors are noted in Table 1, in which the 20 questions are organized by the factors on which they loaded. On an overall basis, then, the importance scores are not highly useful in distinguishing what customers want or do not care about much. Every question has a mean indicating some degree of importance significantly above the mid-point of the scale. However, MANOVA shows that the three variables describing characteristics of casino visitors (‘where from’, age, marital status, and their two-way interactions) do differ strongly on some of the dimensions. In particular, f5 employee interaction shows up as being strongly influenced by all three of the characteristics (although by marital status only in interactions with ‘where from’ and age).We focus on employee interaction here, since it is one of the most clear examples of distinct differences among our respondents. Employee interaction is much more important to visitors from mainland China than from Hong Kong, and to the oldest visitors. This importance does not differ much by marital status among mainland Chinese, but among Hong Kong visitors, married visitors think it is significantly more important than do single visitors. Among mainland Chinese, the importance of employee interactions generally rises with age, although the youngest age category (18-27) also rates it more highly than some of the older categories. On the other hand, the overall trend, although erratic, is toward less importance as age increases among Hong Kong visitors.

Stress, Health and Coping Resources of Chinese Pathological Gamblers’ Spouses

Abstract Excessive gambling negatively impacts the lives of gamblers’ spouses. This study investigated stressful life events, perceived stress, coping resources and health risks of 10 spouses recruited from two treatment facilities. In semi-structured interviews, the Social Readjustment Rating Scale identified life events encountered in the past year. The 12-item General Health Questionnaire assessed psychiatric impairment of the participants who also answered questions on physical symptoms and emotional problems. Open-ended questions gathered information on coping resources. The interviews were audio-taped and transcribed for thematic analysis. Replicating previous research results, the spouses disclosed marital, social, financial and vocational stresses related to gamblers’ disordered gambling. The majority utilized both formal and informal help, internal and external coping resources to deal with the adverse circumstances. Many reported significant symptoms of physical, emotional and mental health problems. Perceived stress, but not the number of negative life events, correlated significantly with physical and psychiatric symptoms. Only positive beliefs as a type of coping resources were inversely correlated with pathology. The study findings have implications for interventions and future research.

An examination of factors that discourage slot play in Macau casinos

This research investigates the factors that discourage slot play by Chinese gamblers in Macau, the main source of customers for the region's casinos. The results of focus group discussions indicate that the servicescape (or service environment, including floor layout, cleanliness, lighting, etc.) of the slot areas has little impact on whether Chinese gamblers play slot machines. Customer survey findings reveal that gambling motivation, betting preferences, the culture of Chinese gamblers, game characteristics (especially the size of the jackpot), and service provision are more important factors. Several managerial implications are extracted from a study of players’ responses to possible improvements to slot machines.

GAMBLING IN CHINA RECONSIDERED: FANTAN IN SOUTH CHINA DURING THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY

Fantan 番攤 is a Chinese gambling game based on a draw from a random number of hidden coins or tokens, requiring the player to guess a number out of one, two, three or four. It currently survives only in Macao, but during the Late Qing and Republican periods, fantan was one of the most popular games in South China. Through the investigation of a wide range of sources, this article challenges the bias of standard accounts of gambling, which emphasize its corrupting influence and depict players as powerless victims cheated by the unscrupulous operators of gambling houses.The reality was less negative. Cheating by proprietors was by no means common and fantan was considered a socially acceptable leisure activity. For many people, it was part of daily life, and tanguan 攤館, the establishments where it was played, were popular venues both enjoyable and secure. They generated a specific kind of conviviality derived from complex interactions among participants. By underestimating the role of fantan (and gambling more generally), one risks overlooking a socially significant activity, something that influenced the way not only heavy gamblers but also ordinary people perceived their own lives and destinies.

Development of an Indigenous Inventory GMAB (Gambling Motives, Attitudes and Behaviors) for Chinese Gamblers: An Exploratory Study

Scale development in the extant gambling literature has been dominated by pathological gamblers, but the non- or sub-clinical gamblers have been overlooked. Moreover, most scales are predominantly based on Western samples; only a few of the scales have Chinese versions validated with Chinese samples. A rarely explored niche still exists for the development of an indigenous scale for Chinese gamblers. The current exploratory study made the first step towards such a direction by identifying factors through the construction of an indigenous Gambling Motives, Attitudes and Behavior (GMAB) scale for Chinese gamblers. Preliminary items were generated primarily from focus group discussions. The items were administered through a telephone survey in which 791 randomly sampled gamblers participated. Exploratory factor analyses revealed (a) five dimensions of gambling motives, namely, self-worth, monetary gains, sensation seeking, boredom alleviation, and learning; (b) four dimensions of gambling attitudes, namely, luck and fate, attitudes toward negative consequences in gambling, techniques, and superstition; and (c) six dimensions of behavior, namely, impaired control in gambling, gambling involvement, arousal reaction, superstitious behavior, controlled gambling and casino exploration. Implications of the interplay among these factors and future research directions were discussed.

Pathways to Development of Problem Gambling among Chinese Gamblers in Hong Kong: Validation of the Blaszczynski and Nower (2002) Model

Pathways to Development of Problem Gambling among Chinese Gamblers in Hong Kong: Validation of the Blaszczynski and Nower (2002) Model

Stress, Health and Coping Resources of Chinese Pathological Gamblers' Spouses

Stress, Health and Coping Resources of Chinese Pathological Gamblers' Spouses

Examination of Chinese Gambling Problems through a Socio-Historical-Cultural Perspective

The aim of this review is to highlight emerging trends about Chinese people and gambling addiction over the last 15 years, and to provide a discourse on the potential link between gambling and Chinese culture and history. The authors reported on the phenomenon of gambling among Chinese people using relevant research studies and reports and traditional Chinese literature. Chinese people have elevated levels of gambling addiction compared to their Western counterparts. These elevated rates are coupled with the rapid expansion of gambling venues within the Pan-Pacific region. While there is an accumulated body of research on Chinese and gambling, a systematic cultural analysis of Chinese gambling is still under development. We undertook a brief comparison between two ancient civilizations, China and Rome, in order to gain better understanding about gambling among Chinese people. To effectively deal with gambling addictions among Chinese people, it is imperative to develop culturally responsive interventions.

Screening for college problem gambling in Chinese societies: psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the South Oaks Gambling Screen (C-SOGS)

A total of 979 Chinese college students were recruited in order to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the South Oaks Gambling Screen (C-SOGS). The C-SOGS was internally consistent and correlated with gambling-related problems and negative mental health status. Results of likelihood ratios (LRs) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve supported the C-SOGS as a valid screening instrument for probable pathological gambling. Using the DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling, the conventional cut score of 5 on the C-SOGS showed satisfactory sensitivity, specificity and false negative rates. This cut score identified 85% of the true positives and 95% of the true negatives. In general, the C-SOGS overestimated the number of pathological gamblers relative to DSM-IV criteria. Future research on Chinese gambling should build on current empirical work on the SOGS to refine the C-SOGS for use with Chinese populations.

A Vanguard Wanderer Goes to the East from New York to Taiwan via Tokyo: On Shigematsu Iwakichi, a Futurist Painter

In the 1910s many small groups of emerging artists formed in Japan, pursuing new ways of expression after European modernism. This trend became stronger all over the country, attaining its zenith in the mid 1920s and forming the so-called modern art movement. Radical groups formed and disbanded in a short period of time, such as the Futurist Art Association (Miraiha Bijutsu Kyokai), Action (Akushon), Mavo and so on. One unique painter Shigematsu Iwakichi (dates unknown) returned from the United States in 1920, after twenty years, and participated in these aggressive and successive demonstrations of new art. We have only a few images of his work from these years, which show a typical vanguard artist. He lost contact with the art world, however, while undertaking studies of subtropical landscape in the late 20s, in southern Taiwan. Shigematsu studied in New York in the Independent School of Art established in 1912 by Homer Boss (1882-1956), one of Robert Henri's major students. Shigematsu encountered modernism here, like Yasuo Kuniyoshi, enrolling in the school just after the Armory Show, when, Kuniyoshi recalled, in its wake ”Cubism was in the air.” Shigematsu should certainly be considered one of those students struck by modernist works from Europe, who started to paint after them. Returning home sometime in 1920, Shigematsu began to participate in the modern art movement, exhibiting first in a moderate association of modernist painters, called Nikakai, in September 1921 with a painting of a Chinese gambling room in a cubistic mode. Then he exhibited four works (images unknown) at a radical group show influenced strongly by David Burliuk, the ”Father of Russian Futurism.” Named after Italian futurism, this small group was established in 1920, against Nikakai's moderate modernism. Burliuk's participation had special importance for the group's propagation of modernism and then Shigematsu, from the United States, brought another stimulus. Shigematsu attracted greater attention among young painters around Nikakai who were establishing a satellite group of this association, that is, Action. Its first showing in April 1923 included a nude study by him which was mostly abstract with rhythmical lines. Shigematsu left Japan for Taiwan probably after the Great Kanto Earthquake, September 1923. We have some information about him from newspaper articles in Japan as well as Taiwan. He apparently depended on a friend in Tainan, enabling him to paint subtropical landscapes, and settled as late as February 1925 at ”台南州東石郡朴子街.” Furthermore, in July 1929 Shigematsu had a solo exhibition in Taipei, at the Taiwan Daily, displaying 57 pieces with a few older Futurist works. Many realistic works of a park, a backstreet, a bridge, an old Tainan street, etc., were roughly painted with heavy lines and calm shading. Following this show there is no further information. It is still open to speculation whether Shigematsu made serious contact with painters in southern Taiwan in the late 1920s.

The Psychology of Risk-taking in Gambling among Chinese Visitors to Macau

The study attempts to replicate Zaleskiewicz's duality of risk-taking using the Stimulating-Instrumental Risk Inventory (SIRI) in the context of gambling participation among Mainland Chinese visitors to Macau. The objective was to examine if different risk-taking inclinations among Chinese gambling participants are associated with their gambling attitude, motivation and behaviour. Results found that stimulating risk-taking disposition was associated with motivations related to money, excitement, competition, challenge and a liking for risk. Stimulating risk-taking disposition was also associated with gambling expenditure. Interestingly, further results indicated that Chinese gamblers have a tendency to seek both exciting sensations as well as an opportunity to make money from gambling. Both stimulating risk-taking and profit-seeking instrumental risk-taking dispositions were associated with gambling attitude, games preference and gambling participation. Results may help to explain why Chinese are generally more serious and hard-core gamblers than their Western counterparts.

Mah-Jong-induced epilepsy: a special reflex epilepsy in Chinese society

We present five patients of epilepsy in which seizures were triggered by playing or watching the traditional Chinese gambling game “Mah-Jong.” One patient also experienced seizures while playing a computer version of the Mah-Jong game. This condition appeared to have a predominance of males (80%) and middle-aged onset (39.4 years). Four patients had generalized tonic-clonic seizures and one patient had partial seizures with secondary generalization. No spontaneous seizure occurred in these patients. Three patients had been receiving antiepileptic drug therapy, but without effective control over their seizures. Mah-Jong-induced epilepsy is a very peculiar form of complex reflex epilepsy that involves the higher mental activities. This phenomenon may consist of distinct pathophysiologic mechanisms from other reflex epilepsy induced by thinking and spatial tasks in idiopathic generalized epilepsies. This unusual reflex epilepsy is relatively benign in nature and antiepileptic drug therapy has uncertain benefits. It may be necessary to avoid playing the Mah-Jong game in order to prevent seizures.