Hamlyn, Felicity (2011) Does Personality Predict Problematic Gambling? Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Research regarding the role that personality has on problematic gambling severity has produced differing results (Bagby, Vachon, Bulmash, Toneatto, Quilty & Costa, 2007; Hwang, Shin, Lim, Park, Shin, Yang, Park & Kwon, 2011; Kaare, Mottus, & Konstabel, 2009; Mysreth, Pallesen, Molde, Johnsen, & Lorvik, 2009). The aim of the current study was to investigate whether the personality factors of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness (Costa & McCrae, 1992), significantly predict gambling severity. Participants consisted of 64 individuals seeking treatment for problematic gambling (34 male and 30 female) at various Lifeline Gambling Counselling Centres throughout Queensland. Participants were assessed in terms of their gambling severity, according to scores on the South Oaks Gambling Screen (Lesieur & Blume, 1987), and personality, as measured by five personality factors of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness, within the IPIP-NEO (Johnson, 2001). It was expected that Neuroticism, Openness to Experience, and Conscientiousness would significantly predict gambling severity, and that Extraversion and Agreeableness would not make a significant contribution to the severity of problem gambling. A multiple regression analysis revealed that the personality factors of Neuroticism (β = .11, p = .035) and Agreeableness (β = .12, p = .009) were found to significantly contribute to the severity of problem gambling. Extraversion (β = .06, ns), Openness to Experience (β = -.16, ns), and Conscientiousness (β = -.03, ns) did not significantly contribute to the prediction of problem gambling severity. Overall, personality was found to be a significant predictor of gambling severity, F(5, 64) = 3.31, p = .011, with the five factors of personality accounting for 22% of the variance in gambling severity. A posthoc power analysis using GPower 3.1.2 (Faul, Erdfelder, Lang, & Buchner, 2009) revealed a large effect size (f² = .28). It is anticipated that these findings could assist in identifying individuals at risk of developing problematic gambling behaviours, and also contribute to the development and implementation of treatment plans for problem gamblers. Given the lack of consistency between previous research findings and the results of the current study (Bagby et al., 2007; Hwang et al., 2011; Kaare et al., 2009), further research regarding personality and its role in predicting gambling severity is required, particularly in relation to the differences between those seeking treatment for problematic gambling, those choosing not to seek treatment for gambling problems, and individuals diagnosed with pathological gambling.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Sciences - Department of Psychology (Up to 30 Jun 2013) |
| Supervisors: | David Lalor |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 16 Oct 2025 02:31 |
| Last Modified: | 16 Oct 2025 02:31 |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52378 |
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