Background:
Suicidal behaviour is the most serious outcome of an activity that is promoted as recreation (Productivity Commission 1999). Understanding of the prevalence of problem gambling and its risk factors in a population accessing mental health services has important implications for clinicians in these settings.
Method:
Over 6 months, consecutive presentations of people who were seen either in the community by The Alfred's Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team or who were admitted to the emergency department of The Alfred and seen by The Alfred's Psychiatry Triage were screened for suicidal ideas or intent and problem gambling. Positive cases were invited to participate in a study to investigate the prevalence of problem gambling, suicide and other mental health issues.
Results:
Preliminary data indicate high levels of problem gambling in the sample. There are gender differences found in those with suicidal ideas or behaviours and problem gambling. Results on a range of other biopsycho-social measures are compared with other populations.
Conclusions:
The results of the project highlight characteristics that can be contrasted with international data to broaden the understanding of mental health issues in people for whom gambling is a problem or is a problem for someone who is close to them, or that gambling is the reason behind their contact with a mental health service. Further, it underscores the importance of including the identification of problem gambling as a factor for risk in clinical mental health assessment and the need for further research.
