Gambling Harm Experienced by Children Exposed to Parental Gambling: An Online Survey of Australians

Abstract

Although child wellbeing is known to be negatively affected by gambling, relatively little is known about the specific harms experienced by children exposed to parental gambling problems. The current study aimed to better understand gambling harm directly attributed to regular parental gambling in key areas of child wellbeing: financial, psychological, interpersonal wellbeing and intergenerational transmission of problem gambling. Using data from a national survey of Australian adults exposed to parental gambling under the age of 18 (n = 211), the results show that parental gambling was related significant levels of financial harm, abuse, neglect as well as relational and psychological problems as a direct result of parental gambling. The likelihood of experiencing gambling harms was positively associated with parental problem gambling severity. Harmful impacts of parental gambling as a child were also associated with a range of psychological problems in adulthood including depression, anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and intimate partner violence victimisation. Parental problem gambling severity was negatively associated with own lifetime gambling problems, suggesting a specific pattern of intergenerational transmission of problem gambling in children of regular, or heavy, gamblers. This research highlights the need for more supports for families with children in which at least one parent gambles regularly.