Abstract
In Canada, there is a lack of research on gambling among the older adults from ethnic minority groups, especially the older Chinese. In this study, two research questions were used to examine gambling among the older Chinese: (1) What is the pattern of gambling among the older Chinese in Canada? (2) What are the predictors associated with gambling among the older Chinese in Canada? The data for this study were collected as part of a multi-site study on health and well-being of 2272 older Chinese in Canada. Four main questions related to gambling were used in this study. Among the 2257 participants who answered the questions on gambling, 26.6% of them reported that they gambled. Results of the hierarchical logistic regression analysis showed that being male, having lived in Canada longer, having a higher level of social support, having more service barriers, and having a stronger level of Chinese ethnic identity would increase the probability for an older Chinese to participate in gambling. Conversely, having a post-secondary and above level of education and having a higher level of life satisfaction would reduce one’s probability of gambling. Although city of residency was also significant in predicting gambling, further analysis showed that its effect was actually caused by other factors including services barriers, social support, life satisfaction, Chinese ethnic identity, and education.
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Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council under the Strategic Theme: Society, Culture and Health of Canadians (Grant No: 828-1999-1032). The author, the Principal Investigator, University of Calgary, would like to thank the Co-investigators Dr. Ka Tat Tsang, University of Toronto; Dr. Neena Chappell, University of Victoria; Dr. David Lai, University of Victoria, and Shirley Chau, University of British Colombia, Okanagan for their help in making this research successful. The author also thanks Jesse Duong's assistance in preparing the literature review of this manuscript.
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Lai, D.W. Gambling and the Older Chinese in Canada. J Gambl Stud 22, 121–141 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-005-9006-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-005-9006-0