Gambling Behavior As a Masculinity and Violence Using Japanese General Social Survey 2000 and 2001

As gambling population is expanding, many studies have started to clarify the relationship between gambling behavior and masculinity.  It is claimed that gambling behavior is closely related to violence, since gambling is thought to be a type of masculine behavior.  However, few empirical studies have examined the relationships among gambling behavior, masculine attitudes and violence.  In Japan, gambling industry such as casino is now planned to introduce by government.  People might be anxious about the possibility of increasing violent incidents. Examining whether gambling causes violence through masculine orientation is a very important research topic.  The JGSS-2000/2001 integrated data are very suitable for us to explore such a research question, since the data include the following variables: 

Firstly, gender, age, marital status, occupation and educational background are used as demographical variables. Secondly, a degree of reaction (5points-scale) to physical punishment by parent and teachers is used as a variable for masculinity.  This variable particularly explains that as part of masculine culture, physical punishment influences children and students to gamble away and justifies their misdeeds. Lastly a series of frequencies (4points-scale) on different gambles (pachinko, horse-racing, lottery, soccer-toto, numbers or mini-lotto) are chosen as variables to the quantitative analysis.

Consequently, this empirical analysis could examine whether the relationship between frequency of gambling and masculine behavior as a form of force exist or not.  If not, Japanese gambling would not generate friction in Japanese social life.