Supervisors info:
Μινέρβα - Μελπομένη Μαλλιώρη, Ομότιμη Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Μαρίνα Οικονόμου, Πρωτοβάθμια καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Κωνσταντίνος Ψάρρος, Αναπληρωτής καθηγητής, Ιατρική σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Introduction
It is a well-established common notion that people who are involved in any form of addiction, have a psychological vulnerability that makes them prone to form a dependency to more than one addictions, whether that is connected to psychoactive substances or not. The purpose of this study is to investigate if horse-race gamblers engage in the use of psychoactive drugs.
Methodology
The list of participants consists of 81 persons, male and female horse race gamblers. They were asked to complete, through an online platform, the questionnaires ASSIST and SOGS. The ASSIST questionnaire, developed by the World Health Organization, includes closed questions. The questionnaire SOGS, studies the problematic or recreational engagement with gambling. Questions about demographic characteristics, as well as questions related to horse race gambling were added. Finally, it was translated in two directions and SPSS 22.0 was used for statistical analysis.
Results
Horse-race gamblers engaged in the use of psychoactive drugs. More specifically, the majority of the participants (85,2%) consumed alcoholic drinks, while the rate of those who consumed tobacco products was significantly high (75,3%). The 13% of the participants engaged in the use of cannabis, while nine of the participants had not consumed either of the psychoactive substances of the ASSIST scale of substance use. (see board 2, page 34). These results align with the hypothesis of this current study, which is the connection between the use of psychoactive drugs and the engagement with horse racing.
Conclusions
The results confirmed the original research hypothesis of the study, towards the same direction as other research results. The results are particularly useful, since they originate from the study of this specific population that is, according to international and indigenous bibliography, rather understudied. Therefore the results of this study can trigger further examinations of this phenomenon. Due to the significant limitations, further investigation is suggested, as well as further examination of the causes of the phenomenon.
Keywords:
Horse race gamblers, Psychoactive substances, Alcohol, Tobacco, Gambling, Substance use
