Abstract
Although gambling is forbidden for minors, the prevalence of gambling among adolescents is increasing. In order to improve preventive interventions, more evidence on predictors of gambling onset is needed. A longitudinal study was proposed to (1) establish the prevalence of gambling; (2) identify factors associated with gambling behavior the following year; and (3) adjust a model to predict gambling behavior. A cohort of 1074 students (13–18 years old) was followed for 12 months. The prevalence of gambling reached 42.0% in the second measure. Boys gambled 2.7 times more than girls, and the highest percentages of gambling onset showed up between 13 and 14 years old. Gambling onset and maintenance was associated with gender, age, sensation-seeking, risk perception, self-efficacy for not gambling, parents’ attitude towards gambling, group pressure (friends), subjective norm, exposure to advertising, accessibility, normative perception, gambling in T1 and parents gambling behavior. Gender, gambling in T1 and risk perception were significant in all three logistic adjusted regression models, with the fourth variable being sensation seeking, peer pressure (friends) and accessibility, respectively. It is suggested that universal prevention should be aimed preferably at children under 15 years old and to alert regulators and public administrations to the directly proportional relationship between accessibility and gambling onset.
Highlights
Gambling is an international phenomenon that involves adolescents and the young population.In Europe, 12–70% of teenagers report having gambled in the last 12 months, with the proportion of excessive gamblers being 15% and problematic gamblers, 5.0% [1,2,3]
The measure has changed between the two waves, and the interpretation should be taken with caution, the prevalence of gambling has increased among the European population aged 15–16 years
Regarding the frequency of gambling, 28.50% report having played at some time in their lives in T1, with one year later (T2 ) it being 42.0%
Summary
Gambling is an international phenomenon that involves adolescents and the young population.In Europe, 12–70% of teenagers report having gambled in the last 12 months, with the proportion of excessive gamblers being 15% and problematic gamblers, 5.0% [1,2,3]. The measure has changed between the two waves, and the interpretation should be taken with caution, the prevalence of gambling has increased among the European population aged 15–16 years. The biennial survey among adolescents carried out by the Spanish Observatory of Drugs and Addictions (OEDA) reports an increase in the prevalence of online gambling from 6.4% in 2016 to 10.3% in 2018 [8]. This high prevalence is due in part to online gambling, which has extended availability and increased capacity to intrude into many
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