Citation

Dougherty E, Staples L, Maclean L, Machart T, Westmore B, Nielssen O. Psychiatry Psychol. Law. 2020; 1-10.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Law, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13218719.2020.1780644

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In order to compare the characteristics, including diagnosed mental disorder, of people who commit fraud offences to fund gambling with those who committed fraud for other reasons, we examined a complete series of reports prepared for legal proceedings by two of the authors from between January 2002 and June 2019. A total of 160 fraud offenders were located, of whom 48 (30%) reported offending to fund gambling. Females made up 47.5% of the total sample and 43.8% of the gamblers. Of the problem gambling group, 44% had diagnoses of anxiety or depression, 44% had substance use disorder, 17% had bipolar and other psychosis, and 38% reported childhood trauma. There were no significant differences in the frequencies of diagnosis of mental illness or previous criminal convictions compared to the non-gambling group. Two thirds reported only gambling on poker machines. Only 19% of gamblers reported seeking treatment prior to being charged. © 2020, © 2020 The Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law.

Language: en

Keywords

adult; human; female; male; depression; prevalence; sex difference; schizophrenia; psychosis; education; substance use; suicide attempt; addiction; gambling; mood disorder; comparative study; mental disease; offender; drug dependence; demography; attention deficit disorder; Article; data extraction; childhood trauma; fraud; gambling treatment; psychotic illness