(WITHDRAWN) Gambling Behavior and Mental Health Among Chinese American Older Adults

Background and purpose: Gambling is a prevalent reactional activity among Chinese older Americans, a fastest-growing minority aging group in the United States. However, the effect of gambling behavior on well-being among Chinese American older adults is understudied. This study aimed to examine to what extent gambling behavior is associated with mental health among U.S. Chinese older adults. Guided by activity theory and social cognitive theory, we proposed three hypotheses: 1) gambling behavior is associated with better mental health; 2) the association between gambling behavior and mental health is stronger among women than men; 3) social network mediates the association between gambling behavior and mental health among women and men.

Methods: Data are from the baseline of the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (PINE), which is a population-based epidemiology study of 3,159 Chinese older adults aged 60 and older in the Greater Chicago area. Gambling behavior is a dichotomous measure derived from participants’ reports on whether they had purchased lottery tickets, went to casino, betted money on mahjong, card games, sports games, or video poker in the past two years. Mental health was indicated by depression, stress, and loneliness, which were measured by Patient Health Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale, and the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale. Social network was measured by number of friends. Linear regression, interaction term (gambling behavior by gender), and path analysis were used to test the three hypotheses, while demographic background, socioeconomic status, and health conditions were controlled.

Results: In this study, 28.77% of the U.S. Chinese older adults had gambling behavior in the past two years. Comparing with those without such behavior, gamblers were more likely to be younger, female, less educated, and had longer residency in the U.S., higher income level, better physical health, and lower levels of depressive symptoms, stress and loneliness. Results of linear regressions show that gambling behavior was significantly associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms and stress, but not loneliness. Among the older Chinese with gambling behavior, women had significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms than men. The pathway analysis revealed that social network significantly mediated the associations of gambling behavior with depressive symptoms, stress, and loneliness among women, whereas such mediations were not significant among men. For older Chinese women, gambling behavior was related to a larger social network, which in turn resulted in reduced levels of depressive symptoms, stress, and loneliness.

Conclusions and implications: This study fills the gap in literature with evidence about the positive effects of gambling behavior on mental health among Chinese older adults in the U.S. Gambling behavior may benefit mental health of older Chinese women by developing or maintaining their social networks. Future studies could advance the knowledge on gambling and mental health of older minorities through the investigation types of gambling games and formats (online versus in-person), frequency, and whom they play with. Social work practitioners and researchers should incorporate gambling behavior in the assessment of mental and social well-beings so as to better serve Chinese older adults in the U.S.