Problem Gambling in New Zealand: Analysis of the 2002/03 New Zealand Health Survey was prepared by Public Health Intelligence (PHI), the epidemiology group of the Ministry of Health. This report presents the analysis of the gambling questions that were included as part of the 2002/03 New Zealand Health Survey.
This report describes the extent of current problem gambling in New Zealand, and identifies key risk factors for problem gambling in New Zealand. The report also investigates the association between problem gambling and various health correlates, including addictive behaviours and self-rated health status.
Problem Gambling in New Zealand: Analysis of the 2002/03 New Zealand Health Survey is part of the Public Health Intelligence (PHI) Occasional Bulletin series.
Methodology
This research uses the results of the 2002/03 New Zealand Health Survey. The survey involved face-to-face interviews with 12,929 respondents aged 15 and over. The survey had a response rate of 72% and included increased sampling of Māori, Pacific peoples and Asian peoples.
Problem gambling was measured with a gambling screen, which is a set of questions used to determine whether respondents are experiencing problems due to their gambling behaviour.
The 2002/03 New Zealand Health Survey used a newly developed gambling screen to measure the extent of current problem gambling. It should be noted that the use of a new screen means the rates calculated in this study cannot be directly compared with rates from other studies. Nevertheless, reading this study alongside other work in the area is likely to be informative.
This study reports two different measures of problem gambling. ‘Problem gamblers’ refersto people with problem gambling behaviour, and includes people experiencing moderate to severe gambling problems. ‘At-risk gamblers’ refers to people with at-risk gambling behaviours, and includes people experiencing mild gambling problems, who are at risk of becoming problem gamblers in the future. This study also investigates various health correlates of problem gambling.