A new study linking problem gambling to childhood trauma is muddying the debate over whether nature or nurture plays a greater role in gambling addiction.

A new study of more than 3k male subjects by researchers at the University of Lincoln, UK found that slightly more than one-quarter of subjects who identified as pathological gamblers had witnessed violence in their homes as children.

According to the study, which was published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, around 23% of respondents who identified as problem gamblers – i.e. displaying a less harmful relationship with gambling than their pathological brethren – also reported witnessing violence at home, while the rate for ‘regular’ non-problem gamblers was just 8%.

Similar results were found for respondents who reported personally suffering physical abuse in childhood, with 10% of pathological gamblers reporting being the victim of violence, versus 9% for problem gamblers and 4% for non-problem gamblers.