title: Superstitious Beliefs and Problem Gambling Among Thai Lottery Gamblers: The Mediation Effects of Number Search and Gambling Intensity.
abstract: Thai lottery gamblers won prizes after betting on numbers they obtained from newspaper stories. We hypothesized that Thai lottery gamblers' superstitious beliefs were related to their problem gambling through the mediation of number search and gambling intensity. In a study among 380 Thai lottery gamblers, superstitious beliefs were operationally defined as the beliefs in events or objects that seemed to reveal numbers, number search as an attempt to identify numbers to bet, gambling intensity as the frequency and amounts of lottery gambling, and problem gambling as the symptoms of problems relating to lottery gambling. Results support the hypotheses. There is a statistically significant indirect relationship between Thai lottery gamblers' superstitious beliefs and their problem gambling through the mediation of number search and gambling intensity. Thai lottery gamblers need to be reminded that their superstitious beliefs and number search are precursors of their problem gambling.
authors.affiliation: School of Communication Arts, Bangkok University, Rama 4 Road, Klongtoey, Bangkok, 10110, Thailand. sunisa.p@bu.ac.th.
authors.forename: Sunisa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pravichai
authors.affiliation: Graduate School, Bangkok University, Bangkok, 10110, Thailand.
authors.forename: Vanchai
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ariyabuddhiphongs
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000523:psychology*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017008:Negotiating / Q000523:psychology*; D012931:Social Environment; D013483:Superstitions / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013785:Thailand; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Gambling intensity; Number search; Problem gambling; Superstitious beliefs