Abstract
The Four Es is a 40-item scale measuring psychological risk for the development of problem gambling behavior. One-year follow-up interviews (n = 395) from a previously reported phone survey in Queensland, Australia (n = 2,577) (Rockloff & Dyer, 2006) tested the ability of the Four Es instrument to prospectively identify persons who would later develop gambling problems. Two groups of participants were selected for the 1-year follow-up interviews, including (1) persons who had gambling problems, high-risk alcohol abuse problems, and/or substance abuse problems (abuse group); and (2) a random selection of other persons from the original survey (random group). The results indicated that the “Excess” trait, which measures impulsive behavior, was predictive of relative increases in gambling problems for both groups over the 1-year period. Additionally, the Four Es questionnaire showed good psychometric properties in the surveys, with a test-retest reliability of r = .70 and a Cronbach’s alpha reliability of α = .90 and .92 in the original and follow-up interviews, respectively.
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This research was supported by a grant from the Queensland Treasury Department, Australia.
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Appendix
Appendix
Questionnaire: The 4Es of Problem Gambling
Question | Strongly disagree | Slightly disagree | Neither agree nor disagree | Slightly agree | Strongly agree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. I would like to just disappear. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
2. I sometimes wish that I would not feel anything. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
3. I wish that nobody knew who I was. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
4. I feel that I am already living in a prison. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
5. I wish that I could take the next flight or bus out of my town. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
6. Running away from my problems may be the only solution. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
7. Sometimes I think life is too much to handle. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
8. It would be good to get away to some place where no one knows me. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
9. I often make excuses to avoid dealing with others. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
10. When walking, I often change direction to avoid speaking with others. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
11. The things I say and do are foolish. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
12. I am miserable to be around. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
13. I can be gloomy. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
14. I am an irritable person. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
15. I feel completely worthless. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
16. I am often incompetent. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
17. I am often embarrassed by the stupid things I say or do. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
18. I usually feel guilty for something I’ve said or done. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
19. I rarely live up to my own values or standards. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
20. I make good decisions. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
21. I am careful in my decision making. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
22. I usually get into trouble because I don’t stop to think. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
23. I carefully think out all my options before acting. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
24. Before deciding to do something important, I will thoroughly think it through. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
25. I am never careless with my money. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
26. I speak without thinking. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
27. My family never has to worry about how I handle money. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
28. I commonly say and do things that I regret later. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
29. I often buy things without thinking about whether I really need them. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
30. I seldom spend more money than I should. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
31. There are times when I get bored with day to day life. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
32. I often cannot think of things to keep my mind occupied. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
33. I get very anxious when there is nothing to do. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
34. I am a restless and fidgety person. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
35. Often times I find myself feeling restless. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
36. I usually have too much time on my hands. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
37. I am nearly always looking for things to do that keep me from being bored. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
38. I often find it hard to concentrate. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
39. I worry about other things while at work. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
40. I hate quiet places, like libraries. | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
Note: Scores are calculated as an average across items on a scale of 1 to 5: 1 = Strongly disagree , 2 = Slightly disagree, 3 = Neither agree nor disagree 4 = Slightly agree, 5 = Strongly agree. In calculating risk, items 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 27 and 30 are reverse-scored. Sub-scales for Escape, Esteem, Excess and Excitement are calculated based on items 1–10, 11–20, 21–30 and 31–40, respectively.
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Rockloff, M.J., Dyer, V. The Four Es 1-Year Later: A Tool for Predicting the Development of Gambling Problems. J Gambl Stud 23, 467–478 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-006-9055-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-006-9055-z