Gambling disorder and problem gambling in Brazil: The development of a brief screening scale.
Brief, accurate, and context-sensitive screening tools are essential for detecting gambling-related problems, but most existing instruments are not validated for on-site gambling.
This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and patterns of Gambling Disorder (GD) and problem gambling among Brazilian lottery players and to develop and test a concise screening tool optimized for this on-site context.
A multistage, stratified sampling design recruited 5,407 adult gamblers at 494 lottery kiosks. Participants completed a version of the NODS adapted to DSM-5 criteria. Using an exhaustive combinatorial approach, all 2-4-item subsets from the NODS were tested for sensitivity and specificity.
Three combinations emerged as optimal. A three-item version (control, coping, chasing) showed the best balance for detecting problematic gambling (sensitivity = 96.5%), while a four-item version reached high specificity for GD (96.2%). All combinations outperformed the widely used NODS-CLiP.
The study introduces the "3-Cs screener," a novel, ultra-brief tool for on-site lottery players. Its high diagnostic accuracy makes it a promising candidate for prevention and intervention strategies, though further validation in clinical and digital settings is warranted.
This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and patterns of Gambling Disorder (GD) and problem gambling among Brazilian lottery players and to develop and test a concise screening tool optimized for this on-site context.
A multistage, stratified sampling design recruited 5,407 adult gamblers at 494 lottery kiosks. Participants completed a version of the NODS adapted to DSM-5 criteria. Using an exhaustive combinatorial approach, all 2-4-item subsets from the NODS were tested for sensitivity and specificity.
Three combinations emerged as optimal. A three-item version (control, coping, chasing) showed the best balance for detecting problematic gambling (sensitivity = 96.5%), while a four-item version reached high specificity for GD (96.2%). All combinations outperformed the widely used NODS-CLiP.
The study introduces the "3-Cs screener," a novel, ultra-brief tool for on-site lottery players. Its high diagnostic accuracy makes it a promising candidate for prevention and intervention strategies, though further validation in clinical and digital settings is warranted.
Authors
Apostolatos Apostolatos, Tazinaffo Tazinaffo, Tovar Tovar, Kim Kim, Mariani Mariani, Sanches Sanches, Hodgins Hodgins, Tavares Tavares
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