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

OBJECTIVES

Non-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

DESIGN

Longitudinal study.

METHODS

The 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.

RESULTS

About 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.

CONCLUSION

The 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.