The Victorian Gambling Screen: reliability and validation in a clinical population

J Gambl Stud. 2010 Dec;26(4):623-38. doi: 10.1007/s10899-009-9172-6.

Abstract

There is a need to establish reliability and the various forms of validity in all measures in order to feel confident in the use of such tools across a wide diversity of settings. The aim of this study is to describe the reliability and validity of the Victorian Gambling Screen (VGS) and in particular one of the sub-scales (Harm to Self-HS) in a specialist problem gambling treatment service in Adelaide, Australia. Sixty-seven consecutive gamblers were assessed using a previously validated clinical interview and the VGS (Ben-Tovim et al., The Victorian Gambling Screen: project report. Victorian Research Panel, Melbourne, 2001). The internal consistency of the combined VGS scales had a Cronbach's alpha of .85 with the HS scale .89. There was satisfactory evidence of convergent validity which included moderate correlations with another measure of gambling-the South Oaks Gambling Screen. There were also moderate correlations with other measures of psychopathology. Finally, how the VGS may best be used in clinical settings is discussed.

Publication types

  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Australia
  • Behavior, Addictive / diagnosis*
  • Behavior, Addictive / psychology
  • Female
  • Gambling / diagnosis*
  • Gambling / psychology
  • Humans
  • Internal-External Control*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Psychometrics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Severity of Illness Index*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires / standards*