The report "Gambling with Terrorism and U.S. Military Readiness" says many soldiers in overseas posts can ill afford access to gambling machines. People drawn to military life are predisposed to become gambling addicts, the report said. They're generally young and they're risk-takers. www.ideals.uiuc.edu/handle/2142/229
The military’s best guess about the number of service members who are vulnerable to gambling addiction comes from the Pentagon’s Survey of Health Related Behaviors Among Military Personnel. The 2002 survey indicated that about 1.2 percent of all service members, or about 17,500 persons, had reported five or more behaviors identified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Exhibiting five or more of these characteristics is an indication of probable pathological gambling, according to the American Psychological Association. This rate roughly matches the incidence in the civilian population. The survey may even understate the problem, and not just because of the demographics of the military population. Because the report relies on people to self-identify their problems, the number of people with gambling addiction may be higher. Major factors preventing people from seeking treatment are shame and secrecy. This can be exacerbated in a military setting were rules governing client confidentiality may not apply. www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/glr.2006.10.524
For the Department of Defense (DoD), 6.3 percent of personnel had experienced at least one of the 10 gambling-related problems in their lifetime, 2.3 percent experienced at least three of these gambling-related problems, and 1.2 percent experienced five or more problems-the level constituting probable pathological gambling. The Marine Corps (7.9 percent) showed the highest rate of at least one gambling problem. Source: Survey of Health Related Behaviors Among Military Personnel, Department of Defense, 2002. www.selvesandothers.org/article13035.html
The prevalence of individual gambling problems for the total DoD has not changed greatly since 1992. Increased preoccupation with gambling was most frequently reported in the 1992, 1998 and 2002 surveys. Source: Survey of Health Related Behaviors Among Military Personnel, Department of Defense, 2002. www.selvesandothers.org/article13035.html
Gambling problems appear to be related to alcohol use. An estimated 11 percent of heavy drinkers had at least one problem associated with gambling in their lifetime, compared with 6.3 percent of military personnel overall, regardless of drinking level. Some 5.1 percent of heavy drinkers had five or more gambling problems.
Source: Survey of Health Related Behaviors Among Military Personnel, Department of Defense, 2002. www.selvesandothers.org/article13035.html
