Courses Taught
Research Methods (SOC 2290); Advanced Quantitative Research Methods (SOC 7400); Society and Education (SOC 3730); Seminar in Sociology of Education (SOC 7120)
Areas of Specialization
Quantitative research methods; social inequality, stratification, class and power; sociology of education and work; youth gambling, substance use, and addiction; social determinants of health; comparative social policy; race/ethnicity and immigration; globalization
Ongoing Funded Research
2015-17. Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, Manitoba Gambling Research Program Grant $49,897.20
Primary Investigator (with L.W. Roberts)
Research Project “Is Online Gaming A Risk Factor for Problem Gambling? An Exploratory Study in a Sample of University Undergraduates.”
This Student Leisure and Well-Being Survey (SLWBS) collected data from a convenience sample of approximately 1200 undergraduate students at the University of Manitoba to look at interrelationships between particular leisure activities—including gambling (land-based and online), social media gaming, and substance use—and student well-being.
There are three main purposes for the SLWBS study. (a) To assess the prevalence of problem gambling and particular gambling activities among university students, and the relation to a number of risk and protective factors, including comorbidity with mental health and substance abuse disorders; (b) to estimate the prevalence of alcohol abuse and binge drinking among university students, and to identify risk and protective factors as well as potential comorbidities (including problem gambling); (c) to gauge the basic characteristics of online gaming activities (e.g. game type, frequency of use, expenditures) among university students as well as the potential risks and benefits to well-being, and possible links to problem gambling or other mental health disorders.
In terms of practical implications, such research stands to offer regulatory/legislative recommendations for government and/or the online gaming industry, as well as helping inform potential outreach and educational efforts aimed at preventing problem gambling and promoting responsible gambling among youth and young adults. Additionally, it will provide updated estimates on the extent of substance use and abuse—including binge-drinking—among Canadian university undergraduates and help inform decision-makers about whether/how student supports around these issues should be increased and/or better targeted.
2017-18. Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, Manitoba Gambling Research Program Grant $38,310.00
Co-investigator (with MR Friesen, CJ Fries, I Jeffrey, M Laskowski and RD McLeod)
Research Project “Exploring Smartphone Utility in Data Collection Toward Social Gaming and Gambling Behaviours.”
This research focuses on the role Smartphones may play in social gaming and gambling. The estimated prevalence of problematic online gaming is between 1.7 to 10 percent, and existing research has identified numerous factors associated with problematic online gaming. While there is not yet scientific consensus regarding its status as an official psychiatric diagnosis, in 2013, the American Psychiatric Association introduced “Internet Gaming Disorder” in the DSM-5 as a condition requiring further study. At the same time, mobile phone applications are increasingly viewed as a promising intervention medium for behavior tracking and addiction recovery.
While social gaming and gambling are conceptually and empirically distinct phenomena, there is emerging research that suggests their intersectionality. The research presented here represents an innovative data collection platform (mobile app) that is characterized by a unique methodological combination of real time player behavioural data and retrospective self-report measures. Innovatively, from a mixed methods standpoint, this app will also advance this area of study by assessing differences between real time behavioural data collection compared to retrospective data gathered using a validated scale for assessing Internet Gaming Disorder. Development of such a data collection heuristic is a significant first step to reflexively understand the intersection of mobile social gaming and problematic online gambling, as a prerequisite to the development of evidence based policy and practice based interventions.
2017-19. Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, Manitoba Gambling Research Program Grant $49,966.80
Primary Investigator (with LW Roberts)
Research Project “Shame, Guilt, Coping Styles and Youth Gambling: An Exploratory Study in a Sample of University Undergraduates.”
Despite the central role of shame and guilt in human affairs, very little research exists on the emotional consequences of gambling conduct, particularly in the Canadian context. Our study will add to the knowledge base by (i) studying the place and importance of shame and guilt in gambling behaviour among Canadian youth, (ii) clarifying hypothesized connections between the shame and guilt experience and various coping styles, and (iii) refining and validating a scale for measuring coping that is specific to the gambling context.
The results of our project have practical applications, including the following. First, better measures lead to clearer assessments. Most studies on coping among gamblers use generic measurement tools. By validating a measurement tool that is specific to the context of gambling, we will contribute to a sharper understanding of what is actually occurring as gamblers adapt to losing. Second, if we confirm the hypothesized salience of shame over guilt in response to gambling losses, more targeted intervention strategies, keyed on central emotions, can be developed. Thirdly, if we confirm the hypothesized alignment between shame responses and avoidance coping, and guilt responses and proactive coping, better remedial responses can be constructed.
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
Dowd, D.A., Keough, M.T., Jakobson, L.S., Bolton, J.M., & Edgerton, J.D., (2018). “A latent class analysis of young adult gamblers from the Manitoba longitudinal survey of young adults (MLSYA).” International Gambling Studies, online first. https://www-tandfonline-com.uml.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/10.1080/14459795.2018.1520909
Edgerton, J.D., Keough, M.T., & Roberts, L.W. (2018). “An exploratory study of alcohol dependence and problem gambling co-development trajectories in young adults.” International Gambling Studies, online first. https://www-tandfonline-com.uml.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/10.1080/14459795.2018.1497070
Edgerton, J.D., Shaw, S., & Roberts, L.W. (2018). “An exploration of depression symptom trajectories, and their predictors, in a Canadian sample of emerging adults.” Emerging Adulthood, online first. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2167696818778632
Edgerton, J.D., Keough, M.T., & Roberts, L.W. (2018). “Co-Development of problem gambling and depression symptoms in emerging adults: A parallel-process latent class growth model.” Journal of Gambling Studies, online first. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10899-018-9760-4
Sanscartier, M.D., Edgerton, J.D., & Roberts, L.W. (2017). “A latent class analysis of gambling activity patterns in a Canadian university sample of emerging adults: Socio-demographic, motivational, and mental health correlates.” Journal of Gambling Studies, online first. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-017-9734-y
McLeod, R.D., Friesen, M.R., Edgerton, J.D., & Fries, C.J. (2017). “Mobile apps for mental health: Overview and a social gaming framework.” International Journal of Engineering Research and Developement, 13(2), 18-30. http://www.ijerd.com/v13i2.html
Edkins, T., Edgerton, J.D., & Roberts, L.W. (2017). “Corellates of binge drinking in a sample of Canadian university students.” International Journal of Child, Youth, and Family Studies, 8(1), 112-143. https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/ijcyfs/article/view/16944
Edgerton, J.D., & Roberts, L.W. (2016). “Socio-demographic, behavioral, and mental health and wellbeing correlates of university student binge drinking: does frequency matter?” Mental Health and Addiction Research, 1(4): 1-6.
Edgerton, J.D., Biegun, J., & Roberts, L.W. (2016). “Player behavioral tracking and personalized feedback in online gambling: Implications for prevention and treatment of problem gambling.” Journal of Addiction and Prevention, 4(2): 8.
DeWiele, C.B. &, Edgerton, J.D. (2016). “Parentocracy revisited: Still a relevant concept for understanding middle class educational advantage?” Interchange, 47:189-210.
Edgerton, J.D., Melnyk, T.S., & Roberts, L.W. (2015). “An exploratory study of multiple distinct gambling trajectories in emerging adults.” Journal of Youth Studies, 18(6): 743-762.
Edgerton, J.D., Melnyk, T.S., & Roberts, L.W. (2015). “Problem gambling and the youth-to-adulthood transition: Assessing problem gambling severity trajectories in a sample of young adults.” Journal of Gambling Studies, 31(4): 1463-1485.
Edgerton, J.D., Peter, T., & Roberts, L.W. (2014). “Gendered habitus and gender differences in academic achievement.” Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 60(1), 182-212.
Edgerton, J.D., & Roberts, L.W. (2014). “Cultural capital or habitus? Bourdieu and beyond in the explanation of enduring educational inequality/difference.” Theory and Research in Education, 12(2): 193-220.
Edgerton, J.D., Roberts, L.W., & Peter, T. (2013). “Disparities in academic achievement: Assessing the role of habitus and practice.” Social Indicators Research, 114(2): 303-322.
Hudson, M., Hudson, I., & Edgerton, J.D. (2013). “Political consumerism in context: An experiment on status and information in ethical consumption decisions.” American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 72(4): 1009-1037.
Roos, L.L., Hiebert, B., Manivong, P., Edgerton, J.D., Walld, R.B., MacWilliam, L., & de Rocquigny, J. (2013). “What is most Important: Social factors, health selection, and adolescent educational achievement.” Social Indicators Research, 110(1): 385-414.
Peter, T., Edgerton, J. D., & Roberts, L.W. (2010). “Welfare regimes and educational inequality: A cross-national exploration.” International Studies in Sociology of Education, 20 (3): 241-264.
Edgerton, J.D., Peter, T., & Roberts, L.W. (2008). “Back to basics: Socioeconomic, gender, and regional disparities in Canada’s educational system.” Canadian Journal of Education, 31(4): 861-888.
Roberts, L.W., Edgerton, J.D., & Peter, T. (2008). “The Importance of place: Facility conditions and learning outcomes.” Education Canada, 48(3): 48-51.
Lapsley, D.K., & Edgerton, J.D., (2002). “Separation-individuation, adult attachment style, and college adjustment.” Journal of Counseling and Development, 80: 484-492.
Book Chapters
Edgerton, J.D., Roberts, L.W., & Eliasova, V. (2016). Education in Canada: Separate but similar systems in the pursuit of excellence and equity. In H. Morgan, and C.T. Barry (Eds.) The World Leaders in Education: Lessons from the Strengths and Drawbacks of Their Methods. (pp. 79-106). New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
Edgerton, J.D., & Roberts, L.W. (2014). “Need for achievement.” In A. Michalos (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research, (pp. 4284-87). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer Publishers.
Edgerton, J.D., & Roberts, L.W. (2014). “Habitus.” In A. Michalos (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research, (pp. 2631-36). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer Publishers.
Bös, M., von Below, S., Edgerton, J.D., & Roberts L.W., (2013). “Ethnogenesis: Modes of multiculturalism in six societies.” In L.W. Roberts, B. Ferguson, M. Bös & S. von Below, (Eds.), Multicultural Variations: Social Incorporation in Europe and North America, (pp. 263-283). Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Edgerton, J. D., Roberts, L.W., & von Below, S. (2012). “Education and quality of life.” In Kenneth C. Land, Alex C. Michalos, & M. Joseph Sirgy (Eds.), Handbook of Social Indicators and Quality of Life Research, (pp.265-296). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer Publishers.
Edgerton, J.D., Roberts, L.W., Wilkinson, L., & Woolford, A. (2008). “Markers of ethnic marginalization: Aboriginal Peoples in Canada.” In Petra Vojtová (Ed.), Markers of Ethnic Marginalization, (pp 106-174). Česke Budĕjovice: University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Health and Social Studies.
Edgerton, J.D. (2007). “Higher education and welfare regimes: Comparing Canada with Sweden and the United States.” In Nikolai Genov (Ed.), Comparative Research in the Social Sciences, (pp. 257-276). Paris and Sofia: ISSC and REGLO.
Books
Roberts, L.W., Edgerton, J.D., Peter, T., & Wilkinson, L. (2015). Understanding Social Statistics. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
Research Reports
Edgerton, J.D., Melnyk, T.S., & Roberts, L.W. (2014). “Trajectories of problem gambling risk severity in young adult Manitobans.” Final report submitted to Manitoba Gambling Research Program of Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries.
Hudson, M., Hudson, I., & Edgerton, J.D. (2012). “Fostering community economic development with ethical consumption: An experiment using fair trade coffee.” Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Manitoba Office.
Edgerton, J. (2006). “Selected sociodemographic dimensions of paid and unpaid work in Winnipeg (biannual data from the Winnipeg Area Study Survey 1994-2004),” Winnipeg Area Study, Research Report No.70. Department of Sociology, University of Manitoba.
Edgerton, J. (2005). “The prevalence of problem and probable pathological gambling in Winnipeg as measured by the Seven Oaks Gambling Screen in 1997, 1999, and 2001,” Winnipeg Area Study, Research Report No.68. Department of Sociology, University of Manitoba.
Last updated - July 2019