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The present study examines the relationships between risk taking, sensation seeking, and level of gambling involvement. The intent of this research was to investigate whether risk taking and/or sensation seeking are determinants in distinguishing pathological gamblers from problem gamblers and whether risk taking and gambling behavior for a university population are positively correlated for both males and females. Results indicated that the Risk-Taking Questionnaire (RTQ), the Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking (AISS), and the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS) distinguished between probable/pathological gamblers and nonproblem gamblers with probable/pathological gamblers scoring the highest on each measure. However, the RTQ was the only measure able to distinguish probable/pathological gamblers from gamblers experiencing some problems relating to their gambling behavior. Females encountering some problems resulting from their gambling behavior consistently reported higher risk-taking and sensation seeking scores than males with no gambling problems. Results indicate that excessive gamblers are significantly greater risk takers than social gamblers, a finding which could prove useful in advising treatment regimens.
Powell et al. (Fri,) studied this question.