International determinants of gambling related harm
Gambling is increasingly acknowledged as both an addictive behaviour, and a source of harm to some gamblers and the people around them. Currently there is significant international variation in how gambling is treated – some countries have taken highly restrictive approaches and are considering opening up their markets (i.e., USA, Japan), whilst others have liberalised and are now considering reintroducing restrictions (i.e., United Kingdom). Others still are in the process of significant regulatory reform (i.e., Singapore, Australia). A key missing component is an international perspective on gambling, its determinants, and its consequences.
This project is designed to close this gap by taking advantage of existing data to model predictors of gambling behaviour and harm. This project is designed to build on recent funding the principal supervisor has received from the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling. The grant itself covers funds for a postdoc to pool data from 70 different gambling datasets from 12 different countries over 20+ years. It is intended that the PhD student will be utilising this dataset to look at both international predictors of gambling harm, but also how these change over time (e.g., regulatory changes), and how temporal and international factors interact with individual risk factors.
The PhD student will spend the first year familiarising themselves with secondary data analysis, the statistical methods involved (e.g., multilevel modelling, mixture modelling, meta-analysis, other advanced psychometric methods), and then engage in in-depth analysis of the full dataset, which will consist of a sample of 400,000-500,000 respondents. There is also considerable scope to expand the project in a number of ways, by incorporating data from adolescent surveys, such as the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD), by moving from national to regional data, or with novel data collection, perhaps to look at micro-geographical determinants of harm (e.g., indices of multiple deprivation, proximity to gambling outlets), or additional risk/protective factors (e.g. personality, cognitive biases). The project offers a significant number of opportunities for potential students. Gambling is an exciting research area and is subject to significant attention from the media and policymakers. The UK is currently undertaking a review of the Gambling Act (2005), so there are potential avenues for immediate impact. This represents an excellent opportunity for candidates’ interest in careers within research and wider industry. By the end of the studentship, the student will have advanced quantitative and computational skills that are increasingly desired by employers and faculties alike. The project is likely to lead to multiple pathways to publication and impact, as well as opportunities for collaboration and impact internationally.
Indicative Timeline: Year 1: Initial work using another dataset (e.g., ESPAD) as test ground for quantitative skill development. Familiarisation with main dataset for analysis (e.g., going through questionnaires, data structure), and relevant gambling literature. Preparation of literature review on different levels of risk factor and their associations with different types of gambling harm. Year 2: Pre-registration of proposed analysis and conducting analysis of main dataset. Write up of findings from Y1 work. Presentation of findings as national/international conference. Year 3: Continued analysis of main dataset, write up of findings from main dataset and PhD thesis.