A socio-psychological portrait of a pathological gambler as a prerequisite for preventing gambling addiction (gambling disorder)

Gambling always carries risks for the player's mental health, as it can provoke the development of gaming addiction. A direct connection between the socio-psychological portrait of the player, his gaming behavior, and the risks of game addiction can be traced. The purpose of the work is to form a socio-psychological portrait of a "pathological" gambler. The work was performed based on the State Institution "Institute of Forensic Psychiatry of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine". Methods used: CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interviewing) questionnaires in online gambling establishments; CAPI (Computer Assisted Per­sonal Interviews - server event tracking method) in land-based casinos (more than 9,000 people were inter­viewed); statis­tical (for selection and analysis of materials). A questionnaire specially developed by the authors with a point evaluation of the results (from 71 to 90 points) allows us to conclude that the interviewee is a pathological gamb­ler. For the first time in Ukraine, the survey was conducted exclusively among gamblers at gambling establishments. The obtained results made it possible to form a statistically reliable р