Construct development for the focal adult gambling screen (Flags): A risk measurement for gambling harm and problem gambling associated with electronic gambling machines

This is the first of two papers describing the development of the FocaL Adult Gambling Screen for Electronic Gambling Machine players (FLAGS-EGM). FLAGS-EGM is a measurement approach for identifying gambling risk, a tool that incorporates separate reflective and formative constructs into a single instrument. A set of statements was developed that captured ten constructs associated with gambling risk or which were considered components of problem gambling. Following completion of focus groups with regular slot players, a survey with the reduced set of statements was then administered to a sample of 374 casino slot players in Ontario, Canada. Nine of the proposed constructs passed tests for reliability and validity (Risky Cognitions Beliefs, Risky Cognitions Motives, Preoccupation Desire, Risky Practices Earlier, Risky Practices Later, Impaired Control Continue a Session, Impaired Control Begin a Session, Negative Consequences, and Persistence). A tenth construct (Preoccupation Obsession) requires further development through the addition of improved statements.