Developing and validating a scale to measure the enacted and felt stigma of gambling

CQUniversity was engaged by The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation to conduct research into negative beliefs about gambling and people who gamble. This study investigated the stigma associated with gambling in the context of both internally experienced and externalised (perceived) stigma. In the fifty years since Goffman’s (1963) seminal work on stigma, there has been significant work undertaken to refine the conceptualisation of stigma as a phenomenon, to explore the experience and effects of stigma, and to quantify the level of stigma associated with different stigmatising circumstances. Australian research shows that stigma is a major barrier to treatment seeking (Rockloff & Schofield, 2004), and may impede the accurate measurement of problem gambling prevalence. The objective of this study was to develop a scale that measures stigma related to gambling behaviour that will provide researchers, policymakers, industry bodies and clinicians with a tool that contributes to a growing understanding of the gambling experiences of individuals and the impacts of gambling on communities. This report describes the methodology, survey instrument, sampling design, online data collection procedures, estimated sampling error, weighting calculations, response rates and final data for the study. In order to undertake the research, two new survey instruments were developed to measure the experienced and perceived stigma associated with gambling at both recreational and problem levels. The researchers reviewed existing measures of stigma associated with other non-gambling behaviours (e.g., alcohol, drug abuse, smoking, eating disorders) to construct items that were conceptually related to gambling behaviour. A total of 1370 Australian adults (50.6% female) participated in the Australian Health and Social Sciences (AHSS) survey administered by the Population Research Laboratory at CQUniversity. The AHSS survey comprises a panel of Australian adults recruited from each state and territory using random digit dialling of landline and mobile telephones via computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) to be part of a longitudinal study panel. Panel members provide basic demographic information and sufficient background information to be screened for more specific sub-samples and are invited to take part in regular AHSS surveys throughout the year. At the commencement of the current study there were 3165 AHSS panel members in total. Participants ranged in age between 19 and 92 years (M = 58.89, SD = 12.68). Fifty-three (53) respondents logged onto the survey but exited prior to completion and have been excluded from this analysis, with a remaining 1370 respondents completing the whole survey (response rate 44.96%). The results were analysed with internal reliability analysis, factor analysis and multivariate analysis to explore the measurement of perceived and experienced stigma in a community sample; taking into account respondents’ gambling experience and relevant socio-demographic information. The results supported a model of Perceived Stigma along two dimensions (Contempt and Ostracism), and a uni-dimensional model of Experienced Stigma. The scales were shown to have strong psychometric properties and to differentiate well between stigmas associated with recreational and problem gambling behaviours.