Crime and pathological gambling, Sydney, 1987-1988

The purpose of this project was to obtain empirical data describing the prevalence, nature and extent of gambling and non-gambling related criminal offences committed by pathological (compulsive) gamblers, and to determine whether a relationship between pathological gambling and crime existed. A semi-structured interview asked respondents about the age at which they began gambling, first form of gambling used, characteristics of early gambling behaviour, number of years gambling, length of time for which gambling has been a problem, type of gamblng which is problematic, other forms of regular gambling, peak frequency of gambling, average and peak expenditure on gambling, average and maximum gambling debt, source of gambling money, effect of gambling on employment, effect of gambling on marital/de facto relationship, involvment of parents and siblings with gambling, details of illegal acts caused and not caused by gambling (including type of act, frequency, impulsivity, amount of money involved, and whether charged), history of delinquent behaviour, alcohol consumption, use of non-prescribed drugs, and history of psychiatric problems and suicidal behaviour. Respondents were also administered a battery of psychological tests: Beck Depression Inventory, Boredom Proneness, California Personality Inventory, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, Symptom Checklist-90, Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale, and Eysenck's Impulsivity Scale. Background variables covered were age, sex, level of education, nationality, religion, employment status, income, employment history, marital status, parents' occupations, number of brothers and sisters, and position in family.