Volitional degrees of gambling behaviors

Predictors of gambling behavior were examined in an application of Fishbein and Ajzen's theory of reasoned/planned action. The study focuses on explaining the volitional and nonvolitional aspects of gambling behavior. Based on an empirical data set, this study found that the theory of reasoned/planned action could be a useful study tool. Results indicated that decisions to gamble are largely a volitional process for casual participants. The level of previous gambling activity was also found to share variance with future gambling behavior, which pointed to a nonvolitional aspect. This article includes discussions on the implications of the findings and develops suggestions for future research.