You may take the 10 question self-test below to evaluate your gambling behavior. (NODS)
1. Have there ever been periods lasting 2 weeks or longer when you spent a lot of time thinking about your gambling experiences, planning out future gambling ventures or bets, or thinking about ways of getting money to gamble with?
Yes
No
No
2. Have there ever been periods when you needed to gamble with increasing amounts of money or with larger bets than before in order to get the same feeling of excitement?
Yes
No
No
3. Have you ever felt restless or irritable when trying to stop, cut down, or control your gambling?
Yes
No
No
4. Have you tried and not succeeded in stopping, cutting down, or controlling your gambling three or more times in your life?
Yes
No
No
5. Have you ever gambled to escape from personal problems, or to relieve uncomfortable feelings such as guilt, anxiety, helplessness, or depression?
Yes
No
No
6. Has there ever been a period when, if you lost money gambling one day, you would often return another day to get even?
Yes
No
No
7. Have you lied to family members, friends, or others about how much you gamble, and/or about how much money you lost on gambling, on at least three occasions?
Yes
No
No
8. Have you ever written a bad check or taken money that didn't belong to you from family members, friends, or anyone else in order to pay for your gambling?
Yes
No
9. Has your gambling ever caused serious or repeated problems in your relationships with any of your family members or friends? Or, has your gambling ever caused you problems at work or at school?
Yes
No
No
10. Have you ever needed to ask family members, friends, a lending institution, or anyone else to loan you money or otherwise bail you out of a desperate money situation that was largely caused by your gambling?
Yes
No
No
It is important to note that this self-test is not a diagnosis and DOES NOT replace a face to face evaluation with a trained clinical professional. If you or someone you know answers "yes" to ANY of these questions, please consider seeking further assistance or information about your gambling behavior.
- If you answered between 1 and 2 questions with "yes" this result is consistent with a mild risk for a gambling problem, but does not meet a clinical diagnosis of pathological gambling.
- If you answered between 3 and 4 questions with a "yes" this result is consistent with past or present problem gambling, which is generally less serious than the clinical diagnosis of pathological gambling.
- If you answered 5 or more questions with a "yes" this result is consistent with a likely diagnosis of pathological gambling.
This NORC Diagnostic Screen for Gambling Problems-Self-Administered (NODS-SA) was developed by staff from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.