Version Date: Jun 5, 2003 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Richard McCorkle, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Department of Criminal Justice
Series:
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03499.v1
Version V1
This study sought to examine the extent, nature, and consequences of pathological gambling disorders in arrestee populations. Five research questions were addressed: (1) What is the prevalence of pathological gambling in arrestee populations? (2) What is the profile of the pathological gambler arrested for felony and misdemeanor offenses? (3) How does the nature and level of criminal activity among pathological gamblers compare to that of non- pathological gamblers? (4) What proportion of the crime committed by offenders with pathological gambling disorders is linked to their gambling activities (either to fund gambling or pay off gambling debts)? and (5) How does substance abuse interact with pathological gambling to affect the nature and extent of criminal activity? The data for this research were collected in conjunction with the National Institute of Justice's Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) programs. Arrestees in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Des Moines, Iowa, who had completed the ADAM interview and provided a urine specimen were asked if they would be willing to answer an additional set of questions concerning their gambling behavior. Data from the ADAM interview and drug screening were merged with data collected using the gambling addendum, producing the dataset for this study. Variables from the ADAM instruments were comprised of demographic data on each arrestee, calendar of admissions to drug treatment-related programs, data on dependence and abuse, drug market and use data, and urine test results. The gambling addendum was used to collect data on five topics: (1) past-year gambling activity, (2) the use of alcohol and illegal drugs prior to and during gambling, (3) substance abuse and/or self-reported gambling problems, (4) past-year criminal activity (property, drug, and violent offending), and (5) motivations for criminal activity (gambling or non-gambling related).
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Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement, specify the reasons for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.
This data collection does not contain data that were collected prior to the first quarter 2000. Users should refer to the final report for discussion of the data and results from the data collected prior to the first quarter 2000.
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The spread of legalized gambling in the United States over the past decade has sparked considerable concern, debate, and research. Much of the interest has focused on the increased incidence of compulsive or pathological gambling in those areas that offer legalized gambling, and increased social ills, such as crime. Concern about the spread of legalized gambling has provided renewed interest in and funding for research on the extent, nature, and consequences of pathological gambling. However, most of what is known about pathological gambling is derived from studies of treatment populations or the general public. With few exceptions, research has not examined the disorder in populations where it is arguably more prevalent and severe, namely in the criminal populations. In fact, very little research has been conducted to determine the prevalence and consequences of pathological gambling in jail or arrestee populations. This study sought to examine the extent, nature, and consequences of pathological gambling disorders in arrestee populations. Five research questions were addressed: (1) What is the prevalence of pathological gambling in arrestee populations? (2) What is the profile of the pathological gambler arrested for felony and misdemeanor offenses? (3) How does the nature and level of criminal activity among pathological gamblers compare to that of non- pathological gamblers? (4) What proportion of the crime committed by offenders with pathological gambling disorders is linked to their gambling activities (either to fund gambling or pay off gambling debts)? and (5) How does substance abuse interact with pathological gambling to affect the nature and extent of criminal activity?
The data for this research were collected in conjunction with the National Institute of Justice's Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) programs. At the time of this study's release, the ADAM program was operational in approximately 35 cities nationwide, providing national and local profiles of drug use within arrestee populations and the monitoring of drug use patterns. An extension and refinement of the previous Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) program (see DRUG USE FORECASTING IN 24 CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES, 1987-1997 [ICPSR 9477]), the ADAM program (see ARRESTEE DRUG ABUSE MONITORING (ADAM) PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES, 1999 [ICPSR 2994], 2000 [ICPSR 3270], and 2001 [ICPSR 3688]) is the United States government's primary source of information on drug use among arrestees, and is one of the primary research tools on drug use, crime, and other social indicators. Quarterly interviews with arrestees selected using probability-based (for males) and convenience sampling (for females) were conducted in jails and detention facilities at each ADAM site. Urine samples were also collected and tested for a core panel of drugs that included cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, and opiates. Because the drug screen could not detect drugs beyond 72 hours after use, only arrestees who had been incarcerated 48 hours or less were eligible for participation. The ADAM interview provided demographic and descriptive data including race, age, marital status, source of income, screens for substance abuse and dependency, treatment history, arrest and incarceration experiences, and participation in local drug markets. At the conclusion of the interview, respondents were asked to provide a urine specimen. For this study, arrestees in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Des Moines, Iowa, who had completed the ADAM interview and provided a urine specimen were asked if they would be willing to answer an additional set of questions concerning their gambling behavior. The gambling addendum was administered as part of the ADAM data collection in Las Vegas and Des Moines for six consecutive quarters beginning in the fourth quarter of 1999. In the first quarter of 2000, the ADAM program adopted a new instrument with major revisions, additions, and deletions of items. The revised ADAM instrument retained specific demographic and offense- related items, allowing limited use of the interviews completed prior to its implementation. While data were collected on the gambling behaviors of male and female arrestees since the fourth quarter of 1999, only those who were interviewed using the revised instrument, which starting being administered in the first quarter 2000, are represented in this data collection, which is comprised of responses from approximately 1,900 arrestees. At the core of the 144-item gambling addendum was a modified version of the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) Screen for Gambling Problems, commonly referred to as NODS. This gambling screen was composed of 17 items that assessed lifetime problem gambling and a corresponding set of 17 items assessing past-year gambling problems. The gambling addendum, however, included only past-year NODS items. The decision to exclude lifetime items was based on time and budgetary concerns. Data from the ADAM interviews and drug screening were merged with data collected using the gambling addendum, producing the dataset for this study.
The gambling addendum was administered to all arrestees in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Des Moines, Iowa, who had completed the ADAM interview and provided a urine specimen and were willing to answer additional questions concerning their gambling behavior. Please see ARRESTEE DRUG ABUSE MONITORING (ADAM) PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES, 1999 [ICPSR 2994], 2000 [ICPSR 3270], and 2001 [ICPSR 3688] for the sampling frame used to collect the ADAM data.
All persons arrested and booked on local and state charges (i.e., not federal and out-of-county charges) in Des Moines, Iowa, and Las Vegas, Nevada, during 2000-2001.
As part of the ADAM data collection, a double-sided facesheet was used to collect information from administrative records on all adult arrestees selected for an interview. The ADAM adult interview instrument was used to record information from voluntary, anonymous, and confidential interviews with all male and female adult arrestees in the sample available for an interview within 48 hours of the time of arrest. Urine tests were used to detect the presence of several drugs in specimens provided by the interviewee at the conclusion of the interview. The gambling addendum, administered via a survey, was given to arrestees in the sample who had completed the ADAM interview, provided a urine specimen, and were willing to answer additional questions concerning their gambling behavior.
Demographic variables taken from the ADAM data collection include respondent's age, gender, race, ethnicity, residency, education, employment, health insurance coverage, marital status, and telephone access. Other variables include the three most serious arrest charges, language of instrument used, number of hours since arrest, inpatient and outpatient substance abuse treatment, inpatient mental health treatment, arrests and incarcerations, heavy alcohol use, use of marijuana, crack/rock cocaine, powder cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and other drug (ever and previous 12 months), age of first use of the above six drugs and heavy alcohol use, drug dependency in the previous 12 months, characteristics of drug transactions in past 30 days, use of marijuana, crack/rock cocaine, powder cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine in past 30 days and in past seven days, heavy alcohol use in past 30 days, and secondary drug use of 15 other drugs in the past 48 hours. Urine test results were provided for 11 drugs -- marijuana, cocaine, opiates, phencyclidine (PCP), benzodiazepines (Valium), proposyphene (Darvon), methadone, methaqualone, barbiturates, amphetamines, and methamphetamine. The gambling addendum was used to collect data on five topics: (1) past-year gambling activity (including bingo, lottery, powerball, video poker, casino table games, keno, and horse or dog race tracks), (2) use of alcohol and illegal drugs prior to and during gambling, (3) substance abuse and/or gambling problems, (4) past-year criminal activity (property, drug, and violent offending), and (5) motivations for criminal activity and behaviors (both gambling and non-gambling related).
During the data collection period (fourth quarter 1999 through first quarter 2001), initial contact was made with 3,332 arrestees from the two sites who had completed an ADAM interview and provided a urine specimens. Approximately 2,300 male and female arrestees received this gambling addendum. Revisions were made to the instrument and researchers began to use the new instrument in the first quarter of 2000, when it was given to approximately 1,900 arrestees.
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2003-06-05 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
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This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
