Research and analysis

Gambling-related harms evidence review: glossary

Updated 11 January 2023

Applies to England

0 to 9

12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12)

GHQ-12 is a short-form version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) used to detect minor psychiatric disorders in research studies of the general population.

A

Abnormal sensitivity to reward and punishment

Sensitivity to reward is the degree to which a person’s behaviour is motivated by reward-relevant stimuli. Sensitivity to punishment is the degree to which a person’s behaviour is inhibited by punishment-relevant stimuli.

Abnormal sensitivity is often used to explain various behavioural and psychopathological problems such as:

• conduct disorder
• antisocial personality
• depression
• anxiety
• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Absenteeism

When people are not at school or in work when they should be.

Acculturation

A process where a person adopts and adjusts to a new culture, in particular to the dominant culture.

Adjusted odds ratio

A modified crude odds ratio produced by a regression model that considers other data in the model. See odds ratio.

Adult gaming centre (AGC)

A licenced premise in which category B gaming machines are available for use. Premises are allowed a limited number of types of category B gaming machines (B3 and B4) and an unlimited number of category C and D machines. No one under the age of 18 is allowed to enter.

Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS)

This survey assesses the prevalence of psychiatric conditions, both treated and untreated, in people aged 16 years and over, in England. There have been 4 APMS surveys: 1993, 2000, 2007 and 2014. Gambling questions were included in 2007.

Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)

The UK’s independent regulator of advertising. They ensure that advertisements stick to the codes set by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), which includes codes on gambling advertisements.

Advisory Board on Safer Gambling (ABSG)

Previously known as the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board, the ABSG is an independent board who advise the UK Gambling Commission. They also help to deliver the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms.

Affected others

People who are impacted by a friend or family member gambling.

Alcohol Dependence Scale

A 25-item questionnaire that assesses the severity of alcohol dependence symptoms. It is used as both a clinical and research tool.

Alcohol Use Disorders and Associated Disability Interview Schedule DSM-IV version (AUDADIS-IV)

A tool used in research settings to assess:

• alcohol consumption
• tobacco use
• family history of depression
• psychiatric disorders

Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C)

A 3-item screening tool that can identify people who are drinking at hazardous and potentially dependent drinking levels. AUDIT-C is a modified version of the 10-item AUDIT screening tool developed by the World Health Organization.

Alternative claimant count

Measures the number of people claiming unemployment benefits by modelling what the count would have been if Universal Credit had been in place since 2013 with the broader amount of people this covers. This is to give a reliable measure of the number of people unemployed over time.

At-risk gambling

Related to the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). It describes gamblers who are experiencing some level of harm from their gambling. Includes people who are experiencing low-risk, moderate-risk and problem gambling.

Attentional bias

Relates to how a person can unintentionally pay attention to some factors while at the same time ignore other factors. It may explain a failure to consider alternative possibilities when occupied with an existing train of thought.

Attentional inhibition

The ability to control attention, behaviour and thoughts, in order to ignore temptations that are unimportant to the situation or task.

Attributable fraction

The fraction of all cases of a particular disease or condition in a population that is attributable to a specific exposure. For example, this could measure the proportion of suicides (condition) that are attributable to gambling (exposure).

Attribution rate

Calculated using the ratio between the total number of visits and the total number of attributed visits. For example, the number of hospital admissions that are directly relatable to gambling.

Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)

A birth-cohort study that recruited over 14,000 pregnant women between April 1991 and December 1992.

Axis I and Axis II mental disorders

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) differentiates between types of mental disorders. Axis II disorders include personality and developmental disorders, whereas all other mental disorders are categorised as Axis I.

B

Barratt Impulsiveness Scale

A 30-item questionnaire designed to measure impulsive behaviours and preferences.

Beta coefficient

The result when all variables in the regression model (including dependent and all independent) are standardised. To standardise the variables before the regression means to put them all on the same scale. This allows the magnitude of the coefficients to be compared to see which variables have more of an effect.

Betting

Betting is wagering money on:

• the outcome of a race, competition or other event or process
• the likelihood of anything occurring or not occurring
• whether anything is or is not true

Betting and Gaming Council (BGC)

An industry body who represent around 90% of the non-lottery gambling industry in the UK.

Binary logistic regression model

A statistical technique used to determine the relationship between predictors (independent variables) and a predicted variable (dependent variable) where the dependent variable is binary (for example, yes or no, male or female).

Bingo

A game of chance in which players match randomly drawn numbers against a printed or electronically generated card of numbers. It can be played in person, in licenced venues or online.

Bivariate analysis

A study that considers 2 variables in relation to a study population.

Body mass index (BMI)

A measure that uses your height and weight to determine if you are a healthy weight.

Bottom-up costing approach

An approach where unit costs are used (or in some instances calculated based on staff salaries and activity) and assigned to total activity to calculate the total cost. In contrast, a top-down approach uses total costs and total activity to generate a unit cost.

British Gambling Prevalence Survey (BGPS)

A survey completed by NatCen in 1999, 2007 and 2010. It looked at participation in all forms of gambling, estimated the number of problem gamblers in the UK and collected people’s opinions on gambling.

Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) Codes

Regulatory codes written by the CAP. These codes apply to all advertisement and sponsorship on television and radio.

C

Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI)

A 31-item screening measure used to determine if a person may have a gambling problem.

Casino

A venue for over 18 year olds in which one or more casino games can be played. Casino games are games of chance, but not equal chance due to playing against a bank.

Category

In qualitative data analysis, a way of collecting together groups of coded data to make observations about them. See code and coding.

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (London Problem Gambling Clinic)

A treatment clinic that is part of the National Gambling Treatment Service and is jointly commissioned by GambleAware and NHS England.

Chi square test

A statistical technique to determine a relationship between 2 categorical variables.

Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI)

A tool used by mental health professionals to measure signs of depression in children and adolescents aged 7 to 17 years old.

Code

A label or identifier that is used in the processing of coding.

Codebook

A list of codes with definitions, which allows researchers to keep track of how codes are being used to make sense of data.

Coding

In qualitative analysis, a method that is used to identify and define the meaning of data during analysis.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

A talking therapy that helps people to manage issues they are experiencing by changing how they think and behave.

Cognitive distortions

Habitual ways of thinking that are often not correct and are negatively biased.

Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP)

A committee that develops the regulatory codes for advertising. It is a companion organisation to the ASA.

Composite International Diagnostic Interview – Short Form (CIDI-SF)

A short form screening scale for measuring psychiatric disorders.

Compulsivity

The repetition of an act or task even though it has a negative consequence.

Computerised Interview Schedule – Revised (CIS-R)

A structured tool used to assess the prevalence of common mental health disorders.

Confidence interval

Measures the degree of certainty or uncertainty in a sampling method.

Conflict of interest

A situation where a person or organisation has multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another.

Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS)

An 80-item tool that measures intrafamily conflict and violence.

Confounding

A variable that can influence both the dependent variable and independent variable.

Content analysis

A systematic research technique for making replicable and valid observations from texts or other communications.

Cost-effectiveness

An economic analysis that compares the cost of an intervention against the outcome. Typically, this looks at the gain in health from a measure (such as healthy life years gained) and the cost associated with the health gain.

Cost-of-illness study

A study used to assess the economic burden of health problems in the general population. It is conducted for a range of health conditions.

Cramer’s-V/Phi

A measure of association between 2 nominal variables, giving a value between 0 and 1.

Cue reactivity

A term often related to addiction, where exposure to certain stimuli can lead to craving and potential relapse.

D

Data Reporting Framework

A collection of data items that GambleAware require commissioned service providers to collect about the people using their services. GambleAware requires updates on this quarterly.

Deductive

Where a hypothesis for a study is defined by existing theory and data is then collected to test the hypothesis.

Degree of freedom

A number used in statistical analysis to indicate how many ways the results could have been found through random sampling.

Dependent variable

The variable that is being tested and measured in a statistical model.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

A handbook published by the American Psychiatric Association to guide the diagnosis of mental disorders. The 5th edition (DSM-V) is the most up to date version at the time of writing, however, studies included in the review may refer to other versions.

Direct cost

Represents costs directly associated with the harm under evaluation, such as the costs of providing a service (including staff salaries, equipment, capital and overhead costs). Direct costs can be either medical (for example, drugs) or non-medical (for example, policing). Direct costs are often incurred by the service provider but can also be incurred by the person receiving treatment through out-of-pocket expenses such as paying for parking tickets.

Disability weight

A factor that represents the severity of a disease on a scale from 0 (perfect health) to 1 (equivalent to death). Years lost due to disability (YLD) are calculated using disability weights.

Discount rate

Often in economic evaluations, there are costs and benefits that are predicted to occur in the future, which results in society deciding between consuming resources now or in the future. Future costs and benefits are often valued less than present costs and benefits so they tend to be multiplied by a discount rate so they can be compared in present values.

Discounting

Relating to attribution theory, it is the way in which people explain the causes of events or behaviours. Discounting occurs when people see more than one reason for something happening. They may minimise the importance of each reason due to uncertainty of what the real cause actually is.

Disinhibition

Disinhibition describes behavioural traits, which include:

• impulsive action
• urgency
• impatience
• distractibility
• boredom susceptibility
• irresponsibility
• risk taking
• sensation and novelty seeking

This can be sub-divided into ‘disagreeable disinhibition’ and ‘unconscientious disinhibition’.

Dispositional attention

Relates to the frequency with which a person attends to their emotions in everyday life.

Distal risk factors

Risk factors that lie in the background and have a formative influence early on in someone’s life.

Distal, modifiable individual influences

Distal risk factors that can vary over time and can be modified by interventions, for example coping skills.

Distal, non-modifiable individual influences

Distal risk factors that are fixed and cannot be changed, for example, age and sex (see distal risk factors definition).

Document analysis

A form of qualitative research that uses a systematic process to analyse documentary evidence.

DSM-IV-Multiple Response-Juvenile (DSM-IV-MR-J)

A tool that measures adolescent problem gambling among those who have gambled in the past year.

E

Economic cost

Assesses the money, time, and resource needed to produce one course of action compared to the next best alternative. Direct costs are an example.

Ego strength

Refers to internal strength and resilience, which enables a person to cope with stress and difficult situations they experience.

Electronic gaming machine

A machine that is designed for use by people to gamble. This definition includes traditional ‘fruit machines’ or slot machines, and other virtual betting and gaming machines, as well as virtual lotteries. It also includes fixed odds betting terminals (FOBT). In the UK, electronic gaming machines are categorised for licencing purposes. Sometimes referred to as ‘pokies’ in some international literature.

Emotional regulation

The process by which, how, and when negative and positive emotions are expressed and experienced.

EQ-5D-5L

An instrument that is used to describe and value health. It consists of a single question in each of 5 domains: mobility, self-care, usual activity, pain or discomfort, and anxiety or depression. The 5-level version was introduced to improve the sensitivity of the instrument.

Equal chance game

A game that does not involve playing against a bank and where chances are equally available to all participants. Bingo is an example of a game of equal chance.

eSports

Refers to competitive video gaming. eSports betting refers to gambling on the outcome of these games.

Excess cost

A cost that occurs due to an increased risk of harm and would not otherwise have occurred if the harm did not exist.

External cost

The costs of production or consumption of a good that are not considered by people or included in the price of a good in a perfectly competitive market.

F

Family entertainment centre (FEC)

A premise wholly or mainly used for making gaming machines available for use. These premises are allowed an unlimited number of category D machines and are regulated by the local licencing authority rather than the Gambling Commission. Under 18s are allowed in FECs.

Financial insolvency

When a person or company is no longer able to pay their debts to their creditors. It can be caused by poor management of money, a reduction of incoming money or an increase in expenses.

Fiscal cost

Costs relating to taxation, public revenues or public debt.

Fixed odds betting terminals (FOBT)

A type of electronic gambling machine categorised as a B2 machine under licencing regulations in Great Britain (GB). They are available in casinos, betting shops or at tracks with pool betting. The maximum that can be staked on these machines is £2. See electronic gaming machine for more detail.

G

GambleAware

A UK charity who work with the Gambling Commission to fund treatment services, education and research to address gambling-related harms.

Gambling

Gambling is the wagering of money or something of value on a game of chance, with the intent of winning money or material goods. The Gambling Act 2005 defines gambling as any kind of betting, gaming or playing lotteries.

Gaming means taking part in games of chance for a prize (where the prize is money or money’s worth). Betting involves making a bet on the outcome of sports, races, events or whether or not something is true, whose outcomes may or may not involve elements of skill but whose outcomes are uncertain. And lotteries (typically) involve a payment to participate in an event in which prizes are allocated on the basis of chance.

Gambling Commission

The organisation that regulates gambling in Great Britain in partnership with licensing authorities.

GamCare

A charity that provides support services for people experiencing gambling-related harm in the UK. They operate the National Gambling Helpline.

Generalised Anxiety Disorder-2 (GAD-2)

A brief, 2-item screening tool to assess anxiety symptoms over the past 2 weeks.

Go/no-go task

A task that measures response inhibition. Participants are asked to respond to certain stimuli (go) and not to respond to others (no-go). Fewer errors signify better response inhibition.

Gordon Moody Association

An organisation that provides treatment for people most severely affected by gambling problems. They run the UK’s only residential rehabilitation for gambling.

Government perspective

Costs borne by government that involve the loss of resources that could otherwise be used for consumption or investment. The government perspective groups direct, indirect and fiscal costs because these affect public finances.

Grey literature

Information produced in both electronic and print formats by organisations outside of commercial or academic publishing and distribution channels. This can include information such as reports, government documents, white papers and evaluations, published by organisations such as government, academia, business and industry.

Gross gambling yield (GGY)

The amount of profit a gambling company has made, after paying out its losses.

H

Harmful gambling

Harmful gambling is an umbrella term used to describe any frequency of gambling that results in people experiencing harm. It includes categories used by the various gambling screening instruments, such as:

• at-risk gambling
• problem gambling
• pathological gambling
• compulsive gambling
• disordered gambling

Health economics analysis plan (HEAP)

A plan that sets out in detail the analysis and reporting procedure intended for the economic analyses that are to be undertaken.

Health state utility weight

Required to calculate a quality-adjusted life year (QALY). They describe the value of a health state on a scale where 1 represents a state of good health and 0 is equivalent to death. They are created by defining health states of interest and then valuing these health states.

Health Survey for England (HSE)

Annual survey that monitors trends in the health, and health related behaviours, of adults and children in England.

Hospital episode statistics (HES)

Data containing details of all admissions, A&E attendances and outpatient appointments at NHS hospitals in England.

I

Impulsivity

Behaviour and actions that have been made hastily and without thinking, which can be risky and inappropriate.

Independent variable

A variable whose variation does not depend on the variation of another. In statistical modelling, the variation of the independent variable is assumed to have a direct effect on the variation of the dependent variables.

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)

Measures the level of relative deprivation in small areas of England. It ranks every area from 1 (most deprived area) to 32,844 (least deprived area).

Indirect cost

Resources that are unavailable for other productive use, such as costs to the criminal justice system or costs of unemployment benefits. For example, costs associated with lost productivity, such as a person’s lost wages due to missing work, or their income forgone due to premature death.

Inductive

Allowing theories and findings to emerge from data.

Industry Group for Responsible Gambling (IGRG)

A group coordinated by the Betting and Gaming Council that promotes socially responsible gambling and sets codes on responsible gambling advertisement.

Intangible cost

Represents disease burden rather than resource loss, such as loss of life through suicides associated with gambling-related harms. Here, a cost estimate is attached to the number of years of life lost through the estimated social value of a life. We estimate this cost from a wider societal perspective instead of a government perspective.

International Classification of Diseases (ICD)

The international standard for recording diseases and health conditions. It allows for the identification of health trends and statistics. The 11th edition of the International Classifications of Diseases (ICD-11) is the most up to date version at the time of writing, however, studies in this review may refer to other versions.

Inter-rater reliability

Refers to the level of agreement between 2 or more raters. See Kappa statistic for more information.

Intimate partner violence (IPV)

Refers to any behaviour within an intimate relationship (current or former spouse or partner) that causes physical, psychological or sexual harm to the other spouse or partner.

Iterative categorisation

A 2-stage process used to analyse qualitative data, which includes a descriptive stage followed by a second interpretive stage. Data is first coded and exported to a word processing document for line-by-line review, before being organised under headings and subheadings. The researcher is then able to summarise the findings of the data in a systematic way.

K

Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale (KMS)

A 3-item measure designed to quickly assess people’s satisfaction with their marriage.

Kappa statistic

A statistic that is used to measure inter-rater reliability. It is more robust than simple percent agreement calculation, as it considers the possibility that agreement could have occurred by chance.

Kessler psychological distress scale (K-10)

A questionnaire that measures psychological distress by asking people about anxiety and depressive symptoms they have experienced in the last 4 weeks.

L

Land-based gambling

Gambling or betting that is carried out in a casino, bingo hall, betting shop and other locations that require the physical presence of an individual. It describes gambling that is not online or remote gambling.

Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP)

The LCCP is a document, produced by the Gambling Commission that sets out the requirements that the gambling industry must meet to hold their operator and personal licences. The document sets out ‘social responsibility codes’, which are mandatory requirements to hold a gambling licence, and ‘ordinary codes’, which set out good practice for the industry.

Loot boxes

A box that contains a prize of unknown value, which can be bought in some video games.

Low perseverance

The disposition to fail to maintain focus on tasks that are difficult or boring.

Low premeditation

The tendency to act without adequate consideration of the consequences.

Low-risk gambling

People scoring between 1 and 2 on the PGSI. These gamblers experience a low level of problems with few or no identified negative consequences.

M

Mean

Informally known as the average, it gives a ‘middling’ amount for a set of numbers. It is calculated by adding all the numbers together and dividing by the number of items in the data set.

Memo

The recording of reflective notes about what the researcher is learning from the data.

Mental health problems

Conditions that can affect the way you think, feel and behave. They can range from the everyday worries people experience to serious long-term conditions.

Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI)

A short diagnostic interview that assesses 17 common psychiatric disorders described in DSM III-R, DSM-IV, DSM-V and ICD-10.

Moderate-risk gambling

People scoring between 3 and 7 on the PGSI. These gamblers experience a moderate level of problems leading to some negative consequences.

Motor inhibition

The act of preventing oneself from acting without thinking.

Multiple logistic regression model

A statistical modelling technique used to predict a single binary variable using one or more other variables. It is similar to linear regression except that the outcome variable has to be one of 2 categories (such as yes or no, lived or died).

N

National Gambling Treatment Service (NGTS)

A network of organisations working together to provide treatment and support for anyone experiencing gambling-related harms in GB.

National Lottery

The UK’s state-franchised lottery established in 1994 and run by Camelot.

Negative affect

Feelings of emotional distress. It can include feelings of:

• anxiety
• sadness
• fear
• anger
• guilt and shame
• irritability
• other unpleasant emotions

Negative urgency

Describes a personality trait characterising the tendency to act rashly when distressed.

Neurocognitive functions

Processes in the brain that control the ability to:

• speak
• think
• remember
• understand
• process information

Non-response weighted

The method of weighting a survey to account for the differences in the propensity to respond.

Null hypothesis

A null hypothesis is a type of hypothesis used in statistics that proposes that there is no difference between certain characteristics of a population.

NVQ4/NVQ5/Degree or equivalent

NVQ stands for National Vocational Qualification, which has seven levels. NVQ4 is equivalent to a higher education certificate and NVQ5 is equivalent to a higher education diploma.

O

Odds ratio

The odds of an outcome (for example, harmful gambling) in people who have been exposed to a certain variable (for example, drinking alcohol above recommended limits) divided by the odds of the same outcome in people who have not been exposed to this variable.

P

Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ2)

Brief screening tool, based on the full PHQ-9 depression tool, which uses 2 questions to assess depression over the last 2 weeks.

Personal Experience Screening Questionnaire (PESQ)

Brief self-report questionnaire to screen adolescents (aged 12 to 18) for substance use.

Personal Social Services Research Unit

A research group, based at the University of Kent, that aims to conduct high quality research on social and health care. This research aims to inform and influence policy, practice and theory. This is the source we use for hourly unit costs for staffing, such as doctors, nurses and social care staff in the economic analysis.

Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI)

A 344-item personality test that uses self-reported measures to assess a person’s personality and psychopathology.

Positive affect

A person’s subjective experience of positive moods, such as joy and excitement.

Prevention paradox

This describes the effect where actions to reduce the risk of disease across the population successfully reduce the population’s overall risk but affects the outcome only for a minority.

Private cost

A cost borne by a person or business that is directly associated with a transaction.

Problem gambling

A clinical issue where a person gambles to an extent that compromises, disrupts or damages family, personal or recreational pursuits. Problem gambling is often measured using DSM criteria or other screening tools, such as PGSI.

Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI)

A 9-item screening tool used to measure at risk behaviour in problem gambling.

PROGRESS-Plus

An acronym (spelled out in the bullets below) that describes the characteristics that stratify health opportunities and inequalities. These characteristics are:

• place of residence
• race, ethnicity, culture and language
• occupation
• gender or sex
• religion
• education
• socioeconomic status
• social capital

The ‘Plus’ refers to personal characteristics associated with discrimination, features of relationships and time-dependent relationships.

Proximal risk factors

These are risk factors that often occur later in life (sometimes combining with distal factors) and influence when people start gambling (if they have not started) or begin to gamble more often.

p-value

The probability value (p-value) describes how likely results would occur by random chance. By convention, a p-value less than 0.05 is considered statistically significant.

Q

Qualitative research

Qualitative research involves analysing non-numerical data, such as text, video, or audio, to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can be used to gather in-depth insights into a problem or generate new ideas for research.

Quality-Adjusted Life Year (QALY)

A summary metric used to capture 2 important features of a health intervention: its effect on length of life (life expectancy) and its effect on quality of life. One QALY is equal to one year of life in perfect health.

Quality of life (QoL)

The standard of health, comfort and happiness experienced by an individual or group. In practice, particularly in the health sector, QoL can be thought of as different dimensions of health (for example the capacities for mobility, self-care and usual activities, pain or discomfort, and anxiety or depression). Observations used will be based on self-reported health and provide equal weight to whatever full health means to each respondent.

Quality of Life Inventory (QOLI)

A psychological assessment that measures wellbeing and satisfaction with life.

R

Regression analyses

A set of statistical analyses that estimate the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables.

Risk perceptions

These are subjective judgments people make about the severity of harm or potential for loss when taking a risk.

Robustness

Refers to the strength of a statistical model or procedure being undertaken. A robust statistic is unaffected by errors in the results.

S

Sample size

The number of participants taking part in the study. There should be enough participants to be representative of the target population.

Sampling method

The method used to choose a group of people from a population who are being studied. The method used depends on a number of factors, such as time and money.

Self-exclusion

A facility to support people who want to stop gambling, where gambling businesses have to take reasonable steps to prevent a person gambling if they try to do so.

Self-regulation

Where an industry body regulates itself using voluntary arrangements, rather than formal or legal regulation requirements.

Self-service betting terminal (SSBT)

A machine designed for betting on future real events that cannot be used for gaming.

Sensation seeking

The search of varied, novel, complex and intense feelings and experiences, and readiness to take physical, social, legal, and financial risks for the sake of these experiences.

Severity of Drug Dependence Scale (SDS)

A 5-item questionnaire that measures the severity of opiate dependence.

Simple random sampling

A sampling method where any ‘unit’ (for example, a patient) has an equal probability of being selected in a given sample.

Social cost

The sum of costs to society and any benefits to the public sector. Direct, indirect and intangible costs are all examples.

Social discourse

The framework of meaning that a person uses to talk about topics.

Socio-ecological model

A model underpinned by the theory that a person’s health and related behaviours are affected and modified by their immediate relationships, their environment and broader social, political and economic conditions.

South Oak Gambling Screen (SOGS)

A 20-item questionnaire based on DSM criteria for pathological gambling.

South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA)

A version of the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) adapted to measure adolescent gambling.

Speed of play

The speed at which a person can play a cycle of a game before playing again.

Standard error (SE)

A measure of how accurately a sample represents a population.

Standardisation

A process of putting different variables on the same scale that allows you to compare scores between different types of variables.

Standardised Mortality Rate (SMR)

Shows how many people per thousand of the population will die of a particular cause in a year.

Statistical Life Year (SLY)

A valuation measure to estimate the impact of risks on the length of life. The value of a SLY is derived from the social value of a small change in the probability (the risk) of losing or gaining a year of life expectancy.

Statistical significance

A test that determines if an outcome is likely to have resulted from a specific cause, rather than by chance or randomly.

Stop signal task

A neurocognitive task designed to provide a sensitive measure of the time taken by the brain to inhibit or suppress inappropriate motor responses.

Stouffer’s method

A meta-analytic technique used to combine p-values from independent significance tests.

Stroop effect

The delay in reaction time between automatic and controlled processing of information.

Structured Clinical Interview for Gambling Disorder (SCI-GD)

A structured clinical interview based on DSM-V criteria for gambling disorder. Meeting 4 or more of the criteria is required for diagnosis.

T

Tangible cost

A cost that can be directly related to a material item used for production or to conduct business.

Thematic analysis

A way to analyse qualitative data, which involves identifying and interpreting patterns (or themes) within the data.

U

Under-controlled temperament

Having less emotional or behavioural control, including struggling with impulsivity, restlessness, attention span, persistence and changeable mood.

V

Variance

Refers to the level of scatter or variation within a data set.

W

Wald test

A statistical test to find out if the variables in a model significantly explain the relationship with the outcome.

Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS)

A tool that measures the mental wellbeing of the general population, to evaluate the effectiveness of projects, programmes and policies.

Weighting

An adjustment that is made to data to take account of special circumstances or compensate for a distorting factor.

Wider societal perspective

Costs borne by external parties beyond government. This potentially includes costs to:

• the economy (for example, productivity costs)
• private companies
• victims of gambling-related crime
• the value of a life lost

Willingness-to-pay (WTP)

This is the hypothetical maximum price that a person is willing to pay for (or accept compensation to avoid) different outcomes, such as health benefits.

Y

Years of life lost (YLL)

A measure that estimates the years of life lost due to premature death.