Adolescents and gambling

Gambling is a fun social activity that is very popular among adolescents. The experience in gambling as entertainment and the increased availability of legalized gambling increase the risk of gambling-related problems. The aim of the study was to investigate the frequency of gambling and types of gambling among secondary school students in Slavonski Brod. The risk-based sociodemographic factors for adolescent gambling were analysed. We recruited 163 final grade students from Slavonski Brod in April and May 2019. A standardized questionnaire on habits and assessment of the existence of gambling problems was used. Any form of gambling was reported by 114 (69.9%) students. Male adolescents predominated, whereas other sociodemographic features had no effect. The most commonly played games were sports betting 61 (41.9%), then lottery tickets 46 (30.1%) and one-offs 45 (29.8%). The most common reason for gambling was fun/excitement 80 (58.8%) and earnings 69 (50.7%). It was observed that 20 (12.2%) students had low or medium problem development, while 17 (10.4%) had high development of gambling problems. Male adolescents had significantly greater severity of gambling-related problems as compared with girls. In conclusion, adolescents from Slavonski Brod often participated in games of chance. Young men were found to be more inclined to gambling, with more frequent adverse consequences of gambling. Problematic gambling has emerged in adolescence. It is necessary to implement preventive measures in the general population and in the groups of adolescents with an indication of gambling problems in order to reduce and mitigate the negative consequences of problem gambling. Key words: ADOLESCENT; GAMBLING

Read more