Youth Gambling Research Articles

Gambling Subgroups among Korean Out-of-school Adolescents.

PurposeThe number of Korean adolescents engaging in gambling is increasing, especially among out-of-school adolescents. This study aimed to identify patterns of gambling activities and factors related to specific subgroups of out-of-school adolescent gambling activities.MethodsThis descriptive study analyzed secondary data from the 2015 Korea Youth Gambling Problem Survey, including 1,200 out-of-school adolescents. Latent class analysis was conducted to identify patterns of gambling activities. The factors related to gambling subgroups were verified with multinomial logistic regression.ResultsThree latent classes of gambling activities were identified: rarely gambling (RG), immediate gain gambling (IGG), and broad gambling (BG). These subgroups differed significantly in terms of gender, age at and type of first gambling experience, number and type of gambling activities, gambling frequency, time and money spent on gambling, problem gambling severity, and motivation for gambling. Compared to the RG subgroup, both the IGG and BG subgroups were strongly associated with an older age at the first gambling experience.ConclusionOut-of-school adolescents who first gambled at an older age and who gambled mainly in order to gain money immediately were at risk of problem gambling. Developing strategies for early screening and referral to professionals is necessary to prevent gambling problems from worsening.

Adolescent Land-Based and Internet Gambling: Australian and International Prevalence Rates and Measurement Issues

This review summarizes recent studies of adolescent gambling in Australia and overseas. Its purpose is to examine variations in participation in gambling activities, including land-based and Internet gambling, and in measurement approaches to studying gambling-related problems. Between 15 and 80% of young people report past-year gambling participation, typically involving scratch cards, lotteries, card games and sports betting. Around 5% report past-year Internet gambling. Estimates of problem gambling among adolescents vary, with Australian figures generally between 1 and 5%, and studies in the USA, Canada, UK, Italy and Finland generally reporting rates of 1 to 7%. Simulated gambling involvement (e.g., gambling-like apps, social casino games) appears more prevalent but its relationship to monetary gambling and problem gambling risk requires further research. Youth gambling and exposure to gambling-like activities via digital technologies is a global phenomenon that warrants continuing research. Research is required at the conceptual level, for example, to identify relevant harms and map links to other risk behaviours, and at the methodological level to identify optimal measurement approaches. This includes considering respondents’ level of involvement in reported gambling (active vs passive), recall issues and clearly distinguishing monetary from simulated gambling. Understanding youth gambling is particularly relevant as new digital technology-based gambling activities and promotions become more prevalent and available to young people with the means to access them.

Factors associated with youth gambling: longitudinal study among high school students

ObjectivesNon-substance addictive behaviours such as problem gambling among the youth have been a growing public health concern. However, the knowledge on risk and protective factors associated with this relatively new problem is still limited. It inhibits the development of informed preventive programs and interventions. The study was aimed at identifying psychosocial and behavioural factors associated with gambling involvement among 16- to 18-year-old adolescents. Study designLongitudinal study. MethodsThe sample includes 511 adolescents (57.5% of men), who participated in a longitudinal study. Classrooms were randomly selected from public/non-public general, technical high schools and basic vocational schools from Warsaw. The self-administered anonymous questionnaire was completed during school lessons. Data reported in this study were from wave 1 (10th grade) and wave 2 (12th grade) with a response rate of about 65%. Gambling involvement was measured by combining a measure of six types of gambling behaviours and gambling-related problems in the last year. Gambling-related problems were measured by the Polish adaptation of the South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents. Both protective and risk factors measured in the study were selected from four broad domains representing (1) individual characteristic, (2) peer, (3) parental/familial and (4) school influences. ResultsAbout 50% of students were involved in some form of gambling at least once in their lifetime. The most prevalent forms of gambling among study participants included lottery games, scratch cards, card games and participation in sports betting. Approximately 3–4% of adolescents have had symptoms of increased gambling involvement. Generalised linear model analysis showed that male gender, wave 1 gambling, sensation seeking, delinquency and cyberbullying were the risk factors. Positive relationships with parents and meaningful activities were found as protective factors against gambling involvement. ConclusionThe results of our study indicate that prevention programs/interventions based on positive parent-child relation building and meaningful activities allowing satisfaction of the need to take risks in a socially acceptable manner can be effective in counteracting increased gambling involvement among youth.

Beliefs about the Consequences of the Establishment of Betting Terminals on Attendance and the Promotion of Youth's Gambling

The increase in the number of betting terminals over the years has attracted many people to watch matches and stake odds. Since live matches have been found to provide more money for betting companies, betting companies are providing more options for people to stake live bets by establishing many terminals. Sports fans have also taken the opportunity to watch free live matches in the betting terminals. The current study examined the reasons why football fans prefer watching live matches in betting terminals instead of at the stadia. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) the views of six football fans (bettors) were examined in betting terminals. Findings revealed that fans are attracted to watch matches at betting terminals based on cost-effectiveness and financial benefits, socialisation/atmosphere, watching many matches at the same time, and proximity (nearness of betting terminals to their homes). While the respondents foresaw the establishment of betting terminals as a threat to promote gambling among the youths they don’t support the ban on the establishment of betting terminals as they see it as an avenue to generate extra revenue. Suggestions and discussions for the future can be found in the appropriate section in this paper.

Youth gambling from the perspective of high-school counsellors

Gambling is a relatively new form of risk behaviour in our area. Modern Croatian and foreign scientific studies suggest that there is a considerable prevalence of problem gambling among high­school students. The aim of this paper is to explore how high­school counsellors perceive youth gambling. In addition to other tasks, they are responsible for detecting risk behaviour among youths and ensuring prevention and early intervention. This research was conducted among 120 counsellors from 18 Croatian counties. In general, the results show that they encounter issues surrounding youth gambling relatively rarely and they underestimate the prevalence of this risk behaviour, despite being aware of the fact that gambling products are easily accessible to youths. At the same time, counsellors do not perceive themselves sufficiently competent to provide adequate interventions in this field and they are not familiar enough with the developed training and interventions in Croatia. The results are interpreted in terms of their practical implications and with the aim of ensuring necessary professional knowledge and skills.

A Qualitative Study on the Development and Natural Recovery Process of Youth Gambling Problems

A Qualitative Study on the Development and Natural Recovery Process of Youth Gambling Problems

The Gambling Factors Related with the Level of Adolescent Problem Gambler.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the gambling factors related with the gambling problem level of adolescents to provide basic information for the prevention of adolescent gambling problems. The data was drawn from the 2015 Survey on Youth Gambling Problems of the Korea Center on Gambling Problems for Korean students in grades 7–11 (ages 13–17 years) and included 14,011 study subjects (average age 14.9 years, 52.5% male). The lifetime gambling behavior experience was 42.1%, and 24.2% had a gambling behavior experience within the past three months. The past three-month prevalence of problem gambling was 1.1%. The gambling factors related with the level of adolescent problem gambling include the presence of nearby gambling facilities, having personal relationships with people that gamble, a higher number of experienced gambling behaviors, male adolescents, and a greater amount of time spent gambling. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first report to identify gambling factors related with the level of adolescent problem gambling in Korean adolescents using national data. These findings suggest that gambling prevention efforts must consider not only access to individual adolescents as early intervention, but also environmental strategies such as accessibility regulations and alternative activities.

청소년 도박에 관한 연구 동향

청소년 도박에 관한 연구 동향

The Same or Different? Convergence of Skin Gambling and Other Gambling Among Children

There is increasing attention on the introduction of gambling-like practices within video games. Termed convergence, this has been explored from the viewpoint of the product, examining similarities in game/gambling mechanics. Understanding convergence of practice is essential to map the epidemiology of these behaviours, especially among children. This paper focuses on the betting of skins within video games to explore co-occurrence with other forms of gambling among British children aged 11–16. Analysing the British Youth Gambling Survey showed that 39% of children who bet on skins in the past month had also gambled on other activities. Betting on skins and other forms of gambling increased with age and concordance of skin gambling/betting was greatest for those who also gambled online. Among gamblers, those who bet skins had higher rates of at-risk and problem gambling than those who did not (23% vs. 8%), though they had a greater breath of gambling involvement. Skin gambling alone was not significantly associated with at-risk gambling when other forms of gambling activity were taken into account. Skin betting and gambling on other activities cluster together, especially where the medium underpinning the behaviours is the same. Children who engage in both skin gambling/betting and other forms of gambling should be considered at-risk for the experience of harms because of their heightened engagement in gambling and gambling-like activities.

Participation and attitudes towards gambling in Ghanaian youth: an exploratory analysis of risk and protective factors.

There is little information on youth gambling in Ghana even though there is an unprecedented emergence of various types of gambling and gambling venues throughout the country. The aim of this cross-sectional exploratory study was to examine the role of perceived social difficulties and perceived protective social factors in participation and attitudes of Ghanaian youth towards gambling using data from a school-based survey (n = 770). Participants completed measures on perceived social difficulties, perceived protective social factors, attitudes towards gambling and participation in four types of gambling. Sports betting was the most common form of gambling. There were significant differences in gambling participation with males gambling more than females. Youth who reported more perceived social difficulties from family and friends had a more positive attitude and a negative attitude towards gambling, respectively. Youth who reported higher protective social factors from family and teachers were less likely to have a negative attitude towards gambling. In all situations, high frequency gambling resulted in a more positive attitude towards gambling. Perceived social difficulties influences Ghanaian youths to have a positive attitude towards gambling, however, protective social factors from family and teachers may help youth to have a negative attitude towards gambling, gamble less and consequently achieve academic success.

Welfare Effects of Gambling on Nigerian Youths: A Case Study of Lagos State

With the increasing rate of youth unemployment in the country, Nigeria’s youths have invested their commitments (time, money and intrinsic efforts) to several gambling avenues such as Baba Ijebu, Naira Bet, Westen Lotto Bet, etc. to source for finance to meet up their daily expenses and reduce the crime rate that would have engaged in as a result of high rate of unemployment. The aggregate unemployment rate is 70%, while youth unemployment accounts for about 58%. With the huge rate of youth unemployment in the country, the study intends to examine the participation level of youths in gambling in Lagos State. It further inspects the effects of youth gambling on household welfare and spending. Methods used by the paper include: a two-stage survey design, a qualitative component that comprises of the targeted focus group discussions and probit modelling to estimate how important the identified challenges are. The paper found that Nigeria’s unemployed youths have utmost interest in gambling to sustaining their income source and meeting daily spending. These activities have reduce crime rate orchestrated by the youths, but with rising displacement effects on household welfare and spending. The paper concludes that gambling has adverse effect of youth’s welfare and therefore, recommends that the Lagos State government should embark on formalizing all gambling activities to protect the gambling youths and strengthen tax revenue collection through the introduction of “per winning tax”.

Peer Group Identification as Determinant of Youth Behavior and the Role of Perceived Social Support in Problem Gambling

Gambling opportunities have increased rapidly during recent years. Previous research shows that gambling is a popular activity among youth, which may contribute to problem gambling. This study examined how social identification with online and offline peer groups associates with youth problem gambling behavior and if perceived social support buffers this relationship. Data were gathered with an online survey with 1212 American and 1200 Finnish participants between 15 and 25 years of age. Measures included the South Oaks Gambling Screen for problem gambling, and items for peer group identification and perceived social support. It was found that youth who identify strongly with offline peer groups were less likely to engage in problem gambling, while strong identification with online peer groups had the opposite effect. We also found that the associations between social identification and problem gambling behavior were moderated by perceived social support. Online peer groups may be a determinant in youth problem gambling. Focusing on offline peer groups and increasing social support can hold significant potential in youth gambling prevention.

Factors associated with social casino gaming among adolescents across game types

BackgroundWith the proliferation of social casino games (SCGs) online, which offer the opportunity to gamble without monetary gains and losses, comes a growing concern regarding the effects of these unregulated games on public health, particularly among adolescents. However, given the limited research pertaining to SCG use, little is currently known about the manner in which adolescents engage with this new gambling medium. The present study aims to identify the factors that characterize adolescent social casino gamers, and to determine whether these factors differ by SCG type. Moreover, the study examines the extent to which social casino gaming is associated with monetary gambling and problem gambling in this cohort.MethodData were obtained from students in Grades 9 to 12 (n = 10,035) residing in the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Participants completed the Youth Gambling Survey (YGS), which is a supplementary instrument administered alongside the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSTADS). Logistic regression was used to assess the factors associated with SCG play.ResultsOverall, 12.4% of respondents reported having participated in SCGs in the past three months. Compared to adolescents who did not report playing SCGs, SCG players were typically more likely to participate in monetary gambling activities, and were more prevalently classified as problem gamblers of low-to-moderate severity or high severity. Although profiles of SCG players differed across SCG game types, factors significantly associated with the playing of SCGs were gender, weekly spending money, having friends and parents who gamble, and screen time. It was also shown that current smokers were significantly more likely to participate in simulated slots online relative to adolescents who did not play SCGs.ConclusionSignificant associations exist between SCG play, monetary gambling, and problem gambling among adolescents. Gambling intervention efforts directed at this population should aim to identify personal and environmental factors associated with social casino gaming, and should be tailored to different types of SCGs.

Correction to: Enhancing the Relevance and Effectiveness of a Youth Gambling Prevention Program for Urban, Minority Youth: A Pilot Study of Maryland Smart Choices.

The article Enhancing the Relevance and Effectiveness of a Youth Gambling Prevention Program for Urban, Minority Youth: A Pilot Study of Maryland Smart Choices, written by Brittany R. Parham, Carl Robertson, Nancy Lever, Sharon Hoover, Tracy Palmer, Phyllis Lee, Kelly Willis and Joanna Prout, was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on 18 August 2018 with open access. With the author(s)' decision to step back from Open Choice, the copyright of the article changed on 10 September 2018 to © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018 and the article is forthwith distributed under the terms of copyright.The original article has been corrected.

Gambling Among Adolescents and Emerging Adults: A Cross-Cultural Study Between Portuguese and English Youth

In spite of age prohibitions, most research suggests that a large proportion of adolescents engage in gambling, with problem gambling prevalence rates significantly higher than in adults. There is some evidence suggesting that there are cultural variables that might explain the development of gambling behaviours in this age group. However, cross-cultural studies on this field are generally lacking. The present study tested a model in which individual and family variables are integrated into a single perspective as predictors of youth gambling behaviour in two different contexts (i.e. Portugal and England). A total of 1137 adolescents and young adults (552 Portuguese and 585 English) were surveyed with items relating to problem gambling, gambling frequency, sensation seeking, parental attachment, and cognitive distortions. Moreover, this study is the first to examine the mediation effect of sensation seeking between attachment and youth problem gambling. Results demonstrated that English youth showed a higher prevalence of problem gambling. The findings of this study also demonstrated that sensation seeking was a common predictor, mediating the relationship between attachment and problem gambling in both countries. The findings of this study suggest that although there were some common factors between the two samples, youth problem gambling and some risk factors can be influenced by the cultural context.

Enhancing the Relevance and Effectiveness of a Youth Gambling Prevention Program for Urban, Minority Youth: A Pilot Study of Maryland Smart Choices.

Youth with problem gambling behaviors are susceptible to serious academic, behavioral, and mental health consequences including school failure, criminal involvement, and depression. Coupled with increased exposure to gambling formats, issues related to youth gambling have been deemed a serious public health issue requiring increased prevention efforts. However, the literature is limited in terms of evidence-based gambling prevention programs warranting the development of The Maryland Smart Choices Program (MD-Smart Choices), a gambling prevention program for middle and high school youth. This 3-session, 45-min program was developed for implementation in Baltimore City Public Schools, an urban and predominately African American district with specific aims to engage students, encourage positive behavior, and facilitate learning related to gambling disorder. Pre-post program participation assessments were collected from 72 students across 5 different schools. Results yielded significant increases in student awareness and knowledge following participation in MD-Smart Choices. Focus group data collected from program facilitators suggested high student engagement and participation, program feasibility, and ease of implementation. Study implications and future directions are discussed.

Prevalence of youth gambling and potential influence of substance use and other risk factors throughout 33 European countries: first results from the 2015 ESPAD study.

Although generally prohibited by national regulations, underage gambling has become popular in Europe, with relevant cross-country prevalence variability. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of underage gambling in Europe stratified by type of game and on-/off-line mode and to examine the association with individual and family characteristics and substance use. Our study used data from the 2015 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) cross-sectional study, a survey using self-administered anonymous questionnaires. Thirty-three European countries. Sixteen-year-old-year-old students (n=93 875; F=50.8%). The primary outcome measure was prevalence of past-year gambling activity. Key predictors comprised individual behaviours, substance use and parenting (regulation, monitoring and caring). A total of 22.6% of 16-year-old students in Europe gambled in the past year: 16.2% on-line, 18.5% off-line. High prevalence variability was observed throughout countries both for mode and types of game. With the exception of cannabis, substance use shows a higher association with gambling, particularly binge drinking [odds ratio (OR)=1.46, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.39-1.53), life-time use of inhalants (OR=1.57, 95% CI=1.47-1.68) and other substances (OR=1.78, 95% CI=1.65-1.92)]. Among life habits, the following showed a positive association: truancy at school (OR=1.26, 95% CI=1.18-1.35), going out at night (OR=1.32, 95% CI=1.26-1.38), participating in sports (OR=1.30, 95% CI=1.24-1.37). A negative association was found with reading books for leisure (OR=0.82%, 95% CI=0.79-0.86), parents' monitoring of Saturday night activities (OR=0.81, 95% CI=0.77-0.86) and restrictions on money provided by parents as a gift (OR=0.89, 95% CI=0.84-0.94). Underage gambling in Europe appears to be associated positively with alcohol, tobacco and other substance use (but not cannabis), as well as with other individual behaviours such as truancy, going out at night and active participation in sports, and is associated negatively with reading for pleasure, parental monitoring of evening activities and parental restriction of money.

The Stimulating Nature of Gambling Behaviors: Relationships Between Stimulant Use and Gambling Among Adolescents.

Adolescence represents a significant developmental period during which experimentation with high-risk behaviors including substance use and gambling often occurs. These high-risk behaviors have been associated with multiple negative measures of social, academic and psychological functioning. Although associations have been established between alcohol use, marijuana use, mental health problems, and problem gambling in youth, research investigating possible associations between stimulant drug use and gambling is scarce. Questionnaire responses were collected from 6542 high-school students aged 12-19years. Relationships between types and patterns of gambling with stimulant drugs [including cocaine, methamphetamine, non-medical use of stimulants, and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)] were examined. Chi square analyses with odds ratio calculations revealed the use of any stimulant was associated with an increased odds of gambling frequency and problem gambling among both males and females. Self-reported use of crack cocaine was associated with a higher risk of frequent gambling and use of methamphetamines was associated with a higher risk of at-risk/problem gambling. Individuals using stimulants six or more times in the past year had high likelihoods of frequent and at-risk/problem gambling behaviors. The results contribute to our understanding of stimulant drug use and its associations with gambling behaviors among high-school youth.

PIH4 - Long-Term Effectiveness of a Gambling Intervention Program Among Children in Central Illinois

Youth gambling is an increasing concern in the U.S. As a response, the “Don’t Gamble Away our Future (DGAF)” program has been implemented among children in central Illinois. Our study aims to assess whether this program has a positive impact on trained and untrained children over time through direct training and peer education. This is a secondary analysis using existing panel data that were created by the DGAF program in Illinois from 2005 to 2009. The intervention included interactive PowerPoint presentations and prevention materials in parent packets. Students aged 8 to 18 years were eligible to participate in the intervention and the questionnaire pre-post knowledge tests (total score 0-9). Students in 5th grade and above also received a gambling behavior screen test using the Modified South Oaks Gambling Screening for Teens (MSOGST) for identifying probable gamblers. After considering subjects as a random effect, multivariable generalized regressions were conducted involving grade, school, gender, year, and number of tests. A total of 16,262 and 16,421 students completed pre-post tests and MSOGST tests, respectively. Half of them were male. The majority were from senior high school (76%) following by junior high school (13.7), primary school (8.6%), and detention center (1.7%). New participants had lower pre-test scores of gambling knowledge compared to students receiving twice or more times interventions (5.3 versus 5.7 and 5.9 for intervention once versus twice and ≥3 times, respectively, p<0.001 for all), and had relative higher prevalence of probable gambler (9.4% versus 7.9% and 8.8%, p=0.021 and 0.323, respectively). However, for new participants only, their gambling knowledge also increased over time even if they did not directly receive the intervention (p<0.05 for all compared to year of 2005). The DGAF program among children in Illinois has demonstrated a positive long-term effectiveness through direct and peer education.

Latent Class Analysis of Gambling Activities among Korean Adolescents

The aim of this study is to identify the types of gambling among adolescents and provide basic prevention information regarding adolescents' gambling problems. Secondary data from representative national survey on 2015 Youth Gambling Problems of Korea Center on Gambling Problems were used. Using latent class analysis (LCA), 13 gambling types such as offline and online games of 14,011 adolescents were classified, and gambling experiences and characteristics were analyzed. The subgroups of adolescent gambling were identified as four latent classes: a rare group (84.5% of the sample), a risk group (1.0%), an offline group (11.9%), and an expanded group (2.6%). The types and characteristics of gambling among the latent classes differed. In the risk group, adolescents participated in online illegal sports betting and internet casino, and gambling time, gambling expenses, and the number of gambling types were higher than other groups. Gambling frequently occur among adolescent, and the subtypes of gambling did not reveal homogeneous characteristics. In order to prevent adolescent gambling problems, it is a necessary to develop tailored prevention intervention in the nursing field, which is appropriate to the characteristics of adolescent gambling group and can help with early identification.