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Researchers say they have found big differences in ethnicity and gender in a study of gambling among Pacific Island parents.
The findings by Auckland University of Technology show that although a smaller proportion of Pacific parents gambled than in the general population, slightly more mothers (36 per cent) than fathers (30 per cent) gambled.
For the New Zealand adult population as a whole, two-thirds gambled over the same period, with no gender difference.
Ethnicity was shown to be a factor in gambling. Tongan mothers were less likely to gamble than Samoan mothers, but those who did gamble were 2.4 times more likely to be classified as at-risk problem gamblers.
"The findings will advance our understanding of gambling in a population sector that experiences very high levels of gambling-related harm," said Professor Max Abbott, co-director of the AUT Gambling and Addictions Research Centre.
The study of Pacific Island parents in 2006-2007 was financed by the Ministry of Health.
Its findings could also help education programmes on gambling, such as the ministry's "Kiwi Lives Social Marketing Campaign".
Mothers who drank alcohol were more likely to spend more on gambling, and correlations could be drawn between frequency and amount of alcohol consumption and higher gambling expenditure.
- NZPA
