to Gambling, Suicide Attempts, and Mental Illness   Ecological studies have shown that gambling and suicidal behaviour were elevated in gaming centres, such as Las Vegas & Atlantic City.The purpose of our study was to test the view that the two are related using a community sample of individual responders. Over 7,000 Edmonton adults were assessed for psychiatric disorders, gambling, attempted suicide, and substance abuse. Severe, pathological gambling is found in about one-half of one percent of the population (0.7% in males; 0.2% females). The figure shows that the likelihood of exhibiting pathological gambling among suicide attemptors is indeed high (about 4 times the odds for non-attemptors). However, mental disorder, being an older male, and substance abuse are also related to gambling, and are all inter-related. When the effects of mental disorder are removed, the association between suicidal behaviour and gambling disappears. This suggests that a history of pathological gambling is associated with attempted suicide, but both may be due to a common factor -- mental illness. Newman SC, Thompson AH (2003). A population-based study of the association between pathological gambling and attempted suicide. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior 33(1), 80-87. To download a copy click here    Suicide Related Menu