A study on problem and pathological gambling among university students in South Australia

Abstract

This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the correlates of problem and pathological gambling among university students in South Australia. Convenience sampling method was used to select participants (n = 163; 55.2 per cent women, 44.8 per cent men; age range 17–57 years) from two faculties in a South Australian university. A questionnaire was designed to collect information related to participants’ background characteristics and other gambling-related details. The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) was used to obtain data pertaining to gambling behaviour. Data were analysed using Chi-Square and Mann-Whitney U Tests and Exploratory Principal Component analysis. There was an estimated prevalence rate of 8.6 per cent for problem gamblers and 3.1 per cent for probable pathological gamblers among university students, leading to the argument that the overall prevalence rate of gambling within the university community could be high in comparison to a prevalence rate of 2 per cent among the general South Australian adult population. Participation rates in gambling activities observed in the study were considerably higher than in similar studies conducted outside Australia. The authors concluded that there is an urgent need for large-scale studies on gambling among university students in Australia.