Comparative Study of Problematic Gambling Behaviors Between American Indian and Non-Indian Adults in a Northern Plains Reservation

This study compared the active gambling behaviors of American Indian adults, living on or near a reservation with those of non-Indian adults adjacent to or within the reservation. Results indicated that a variety of factors including economic status, unemployment, increased alcohol use, depression, historical trauma, and lack of social alternatives may predispose American Indian adults to greater problematic and pathological gambling behaviors. Unlike previous research that placed males at significantly greater risk for gambling problems, this study found that adult American Indian males and females appear to possess equal risk of problematic gambling.