Instruments

Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI) consists of nine items, all scored on a scale from 0 (never) to 3 (always). Based on the total score, respondents are grouped into four categories: 1) no gambling problems/non-problem gamblers (total score = 0), 2) low-risk gamblers (total score = 1-2), 3) moderate-risk gamblers (total score = 3-7), and 4) problem gamblers (total score = 8-27) (Ferris & Wynne, 2001). The instrument is used in international prevalence studies (Williams, Volberg, & Stevens, 2012).

Each item is answered on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The total score is calculated by summing all the items and dividing the sum by 10. A higher score indicates more positive attitudes towards structural regulatory mechanisms for gambling.

Game Addiction Scale for Adolescents (GASA). GASA consists of seven items, where respondents rate their agreement on a scale from 1 (never) to 5 (very often) regarding problematic gaming behaviors. The higher the score, the greater the degree of gaming problems. The total score ranges from 7 to 35. The scale defines problem gaming as a "cut-off" score of at least 3 ("sometimes") on at least four of the seven items, whereas video game addiction is defined as scoring at least 3 on all seven items (Lemmens et al., 2009).

National Opinion Research Center DSM Screen for Gambling Problems (NODS) is based on the diagnostic criteria of the 4th edition of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders" (DSM-IV) (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). The instrument consists of 34 items and measures gambling problems over the past year (17 questions) and lifetime gambling problems (17 questions) (Gerstein et al., 1999). The total score ranges from 0 to 10. Individuals scoring between 1 and 2 are typically categorized as at-risk gamblers, those scoring 3 or 4 are considered problem gamblers, while those scoring 5 or higher are assumed to suffer from pathological gambling addiction.

South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS)  consists of 20 items, answered yes or no. A score of 5 or more (answering yes to at least 5 questions) indicates that the person is likely a pathological gambler, while scores of 3 or 4 indicate a problem gambler (Lesieur & Blume, 1987). SOGS is based on the third revised edition of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders" (DSM-III-R) (American Psychiatric Association, 1987). The scale has been criticized for placing too much emphasis on financial problems related to gambling participation and for yielding too many false positives (Dickerson, 2003; Vollberg & Boles, 1995). SOGS originally only measured lifetime prevalence. However, a revised version, SOGS-R, enables the estimation of current (last 12 months) status (Abbott & Vollberg, 1996).

Lie/Bet Questionnaire (Lie/Bet) consists of 2 questions: 1) Have you ever felt the need to gamble with more and more money (yes/no)?, and 2) Have you ever lied to people who are important to you about how much you gamble (yes/no)? A positive answer to either question is considered to be an indication of gambling problems (Johnson, Hamer, Nora, Eisenstein, & Engelhart, 1997)). However, it has been argued that the scale contains too few items to reliably detect the extent of the problem.

The Effects of Gambling Advertising Questionnaire (EGAQ) measures the effect of advertising on gambling addiction. The instrument consists of four subscales with a total of five items. Each item is scored on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree).

Bergen Shopping Addiction Scale is based on the diagnostic criteria for formally accepted forms of addiction. The shopping scale is the first of its kind globally.

The scale uses seven core criteria to identify shopping addiction, with all items scored on the following scale: (0) Strongly disagree, (1) Disagree, (2) Neither disagree nor agree, (3) Agree, and (4) Strongly agree. A score of "agree" or "strongly agree" on at least four of the seven items is an indications of shopping addiction.