Public Perceptions of Gambling in the UK Armed Forces: Understanding Stigma Via a Vignette Experiment

TL;DR

This study explores how the UK public stigmatizes gambling in armed forces personnel, finding they are seen as more dangerous than civilians.

Contribution

The novel contribution is using a vignette experiment to reveal how military status influences public stigma toward gambling-related harm.

Findings

AF members were perceived as significantly more dangerous than non-AF civilians.

Gambling-related harm in vignettes led to significantly higher stigma across most measures.

Public stigma is influenced by both gambling status and military affiliation.

Abstract

Gambling-related harm among armed forces (AF) personnel is a growing concern, yet public perceptions remain underexplored. Anticipated public stigma (the fear of how others perceive you) of gambling among the AF is a potential barrier to help-seeking. Understanding how the public perceives gambling in the AF is essential for shaping stigma-reduction strategies. A randomised, online 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment was conducted. A representative sample of the United Kingdom public (N = 396) was recruited through Prolific and randomly assigned to view a vignette featuring either an AF member or non-AF civilian who was described as engaging in either harmful or non-harmful gambling. Following exposure to their assigned vignette, participants completed measures assessing stigma and empathy towards the depicted individual. Participants perceived individuals from the AF as significantly more dangerous (p = .002) compared to non-AF civilians. When the vignette depicted gambling-related harm, as opposed to recreational gambling, participants reported significantly higher stigma across seven of the ten stigma measures (all p < .001). This study highlights how public stigma towards gambling harm is strong and can be shaped by military status, with AF personnel facing increased perceptions of dangerousness. Findings underscore the need for public stigma-reduction strategies that address both gambling-related and military-specific misconceptions.

Figures