Problem gambling and support preferences among Finnish prisoners: a pilot study in an adult correctional population

• Date: 05 December 2019
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-07-2018-0041
• Pages: 316-331
• Published date: 05 December 2019
• Author: Kalle Lind,Anne H. Salonen,Johanna Järvinen-Tassopoulos,Hannu Alho,Sari Castrén
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Prisoner health,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Public policy & environmental management,Policing,Criminal justice

Problem gambling and support preferences

among Finnish prisoners: a pilot study in

an adult correctional population

Kalle Lind, Anne H. Salonen, Johanna Järvinen-Tassopoulos, Hannu Alho and Sari Castrén

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to explore the prevalence of potential problem gambling among

Finnish prisoners; the associations between problem gambling and demographics, substance use and

crime-related factors; and problem gamblers’support preferences.

Design/methodology/approach –Prisoners (n ¼96) from two Finnish prisons were recruited between

December 2017 and January 2018. The estimated response rate was 31 percent. Gambling problems were

measured using the Brief Biosocial Gambling Screen. The participants were asked to report their gambling

both for one year prior to their incarceration and for the past year. The independent variables were

demographics (age, gender and marital status), substance use (alcohol, smoking and narcotics) and

crime-related factors (crime type, prison type and previous sentence). Statistical significance (p) was

determined using Fischer’s exact test.

Findings –Past-year pre-conviction problem gambling prevalence was 16.3 percent and past-year

prevalence 15 percent. Age, gender, smoking, alcohol or illicit drug use were not associated with past-year

problem gambling before sentencing. One-third of the prisoners (33.3 percent) who were sentenced for a

property crime, financial crime or robbery were problem gamblers. One-quarter (24 percent) of all participants

showed an interest in receiving support by identifying one or more support preferences. The most preferred

type of support was group support in its all forms.

Research limitations/implications –It is recommended that correctional institutions undertake systematic

screening for potential problem gambling, and implement tailored intervention programs for inmates with

gambling problems.

Originality/value –This study provides a deeper understanding of problem gambling in prisons.

Problem gambling is associated with crime and also seems to be linked with serving a previous sentence.

Early detection and tailored interventions for problem gambling may help to reduce reoffending rates.

Keywords Prisoners, Quantitative research, Substance use, Problem gambling, Addiction treatment,

Criminal behaviour

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

It is estimated thatproblem gambling is five to ten times higher in the adultcorrectional population

than in the general population (Turner et al., 2013, 2017; Riley and Oakes, 2015; Williams et al.,

2005; May-Chahalet al., 2017). In Finland, populationsurveys indicate that 3.3 percent(The South

Oaks Gambling Screen, SOGS¼3+, Lesieur and Blume, 1987) of people suffer from problem

gambling (Salonen and Raisamo, 2015); which falls in the middle of the suggested worldwide

problem gambling range of 0.12–5.8 percent (past 12 months) reported by Calado and Griffiths

(2016). Problem gambling is an important criminogenic factor, with the majority of identified

inmates with problem gambling having committed a problem gambling-related criminal offense

(Turner et al., 2009; Brown, 1987; Meyer and Stadler, 1999; Laursen et al., 2016). The types of

crime committedby these offenders, such as fraud, forgery, embezzlement, larceny,selling drugs

or stolen goods, shoplifting, burglary and pettytheft or robbery, are specifically aimed at covering

Received 11 July 2018

Revised 11 July 2018

7 November 2018

18 February 2019

20 February 2019

Accepted 20 February 2019

© Kalle Lind, Anne H. Salonen,

Johanna Järvinen-Tassopoulos,

Hannu Alho and Sari Castrén.

Published by Emerald Publishing

Limited. This article is published

under the Creative Commons

Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence.

Anyone may reproduce, distribute,

translate and create derivative

works of this article ( for both

commercial & non-commercial

purposes), subject to full attribution

to the original publication and

authors. The full terms of this

licence may be seen at http://

creativecommons.org/licences/by/

4.0/legalcode

The authors wish to thank prison

directors for helping to conduct

this study in these two prisons.

The authors also thank all the

responders who participated in

this study. The authors also wish

to thank Mr David Kivinen for

revising the language of this paper.

(Information about the authors

can be found at the end of

this article.)

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VOL. 15 NO. 4 2019, pp. 316-331, Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1744-9200 DOI 10.1108/IJPH-07-2018-0041

gambling lossesand at making continued gamblingpossible (Turner et al.,2009;Lindet al.,2015;

Kuoppamäki et al., 2014; Abbott and McKenna, 2005; Abbott et al., 2005; Potenza et al., 2000).

A higher percentage of problem gamblers than social gamblers commit illegal acts in order to

finance their gambling habit or to pay off gambling debts (Reith and The Scottish Centre for

Social Research, 2006).

In Finland, there is a scarcity of research concerned with prisoners; no published data is currently

available on problem gambling in the prison population. It is almost ten years since the last major

prisoner health study, but while this research did address mental health and substance

dependence, problem gambling was excluded ( Joukamaa et al., 2010). The current study is

the first peer-reviewed published report on the prevalence of problem gambling among Finnish

prisoners. Gamblingand problem gambling among prisoners is an important area of research for

various reasons. Amongprisoners, undetected and untreated problem gambling is widely viewed

as a risk to communityre-entry and can lead to re-incarceration. Problemgambling may also have a

damaging impact on significant others (Salonen et al., 2016) and victims of gambling-related

crimes, which can make re-entry difficult. Problem gambling associated with criminal behavior

requires rigorous interventions and clear policies to reduce the incidence or re-occurrence of

problematic gambling and to ease the burden on the criminal justice system.

In order to create an effective support mechanism for problem gambling prisoners, it is important

to understand the demographics and comorbidities of prison populations. High rates of problem

gambling are closely linked with being a young man, minority group status and comorbidities

such as substance abuse (Crockford and el-Guebaly, 1998), but problem gambling also occurs

among women inmates (Riley et al., 2017; Williams et al., 2005; Abbott and McKenna, 2005).

Problem gambling often remains undetected and undiagnosed, and it is less automatically

assessed than substance abuse and mental health problems (Turner et al., 2017; Brooks and

Blaszczynski, 2011; Williams et al., 2005). Problem gambling is often seen as a marginal issue

that does not warrant the same attention as more visible problems such as substance use,

especially when personnel resources are limited. The integration of interventions into broad

addiction support programs such as Counselling, Assessment Referral Advice and Throughcare

in the UK, a low threshold low/medium intensity, non-clinical drug treatment service for prisoners

(Offender Health Research Network, 2010), involves multiple challenges. Shame and the fear of

stigma, not wanting to quit gambling and lack of awareness about available support or help are

major barriers to seeking help among both the general population and inmates (Suurvali et al.,

2008; Turner et al., 2017). On the other hand, it has been reported that inmates with severe

gambling problems do tend to seek help (Riley et al., 2017). The first step to making progress is,

therefore, to identify the links between problem gambling and other life-control problems and

then to integrate problem gambling treatment with prisons’substance abuse treatment

(Obstbaum et al., 2016) or broader prison rehabilitation programs. This would guarantee the best

possible support services and treatment paths for this particular target population (Turner et al.,

2017). Identifying the problem and providing sufficient services are crucial to the goal of

preventing crime and reducing reoffending rates (Meyer and Stadler, 1999).

The empiricalpart of this study is based on a questionnaireamong prisoners and probationers,the

aim of which was to assess the prevalence of problem gambling, substance use and gambling

behavior related to crime,as well as prisoners’and probationers’support preferenceswith regard

to problem gambling. A further purpose is to discuss possible support and treatment options.

Aims

In order to build more effective support systems for prisoners, we need a more in-depth

understanding of how substance use and problem gambling are associated and how their

concomitant presence can be addressed in correctional institutions. This study set out to explore

the prevalence of problem gambling among Finnish prisoners by gender; the association

between potential problem gambling, age of gambling and problem gambling onset, and

demographics (age, gender and marital status), substance use (alcohol, smoking and narcotics)

and crime-related factors (crime type, prison type and previous sentence); and to explore the

support preferences of those prisoners willing to seek help for their problem gambling.

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