Previous studies have shown association between ACEs and gambling harms. However, most studies have relied on retrospective reports of childhood experiences collected later in life or examined only particular forms of adversity such as physical or emotional abuse.
Researchers analysed data from 3,794 participants in Bristol’s Children of the 90s study, a large UK birth cohort that has followed 14,500 people since the early 1990s. The study recorded ten types of ACEs, enabling the team to look at associations between these and moderate-risk or problem gambling at ages 17, 20 and 24.
The most frequently reported ACE was parental mental health problems or suicide, affecting 43% of participants, whereas the least reported ACE was sexual abuse, experienced by 5% of participants.
Sexual abuse showed the strongest association with gambling harm, while bullying, parental conviction and parental separation showed association, but in a less uniform way. However, experiencing childhood adversity does not mean someone will develop gambling problems.
Overall, there was little evidence of associations between most ACEs and at least moderate-risk gambling. The main exception was sexual abuse, for which consistent associations were observed.
Dr Annie Herbert, the study’s senior author and Sir Henry Wellcome Research Fellow in the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, said: “Our study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that considering traumatic childhoods is important for understanding gambling harms.”
Dr Raffaello Rossi, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Co-Director of Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research, and Principal Investigator on the team’s wider work around ACEs and gambling at the University of Bristol, added “Through our wider work, we have identified opportunities to support gambling treatment providers in recognising and responding to the links between childhood trauma and gambling harms”
“This study strengthens the evidence for that connection and underlines why awareness of childhood trauma is crucial to supporting people throughout their treatment journeys. Working alongside practitioners will turn these research findings into practical guidance and tools that we hope will make a difference to people struggling with gambling problems.”
This research highlights how initiatives that support families and reduce ACEs may also have downstream benefits for gambling outcomes. However, the researchers estimate that ACEs account for up to 11% of gambling harms. Gambling harms are therefore driven by a complex network of risk factors, of which ACEs are a part.
The researchers hope to combine multiple studies to provide bigger total sample sizes and even more definitive results. They also aim to explore further the relationship between sexual abuse and later gambling harm to understand how this association comes about, for example, how sexual abuse may impact mental health.
The involvement of practitioners is also a fundamental aspect of this project. On Wednesday 4th November, the team will hold a workshop at University of Bristol’s new Temple Quarter campus, with counsellors, gambling harms support charities and the NHS, from across the UK. Together, they will consider the learning from all the research so far, which also includes qualitative interviews with gambling clients. Workshop participants will jointly develop a practical toolkit to help embed awareness of childhood trauma throughout gambling treatment and support.