Rina Gupta

7 – GAMBLING PRACTICES AMONG YOUTH: ETIOLOGY, PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

Publisher Summary nThis chapter is designed to provide an overview of what is currently understood about thecorrelates, risk factors, and protective factors associated with youth gambling and problem gambling, as well as to touch upon prevention and treatment considerations. While the chapter does not elaborate upon how to treat youth with multiple addictions, it is clear that gamblers with concomitant substance abuse problems pose a greater challenge for treatment. Youth with clinical levels of depression, high levels of impulsivity and anxiety disorders are often referred to psychiatry to simultaneously engage in pharmacological treatment while undergoing therapy. The fact that the prevalence rate for youth with severe gambling problems remains higher than that for adults is of significant concern. Societal trends continue to indicate that gambling is becoming more mainstream, and youth are being influenced and exposed through traditional media such as television, mobile phones, and the Internet. The complete etiology of problem gambling among youth is unclear, but it is known that parenting style, acceptability, exposure, access to gambling venues, personality traits, impulsivity and emotional disposition all interact together to place certain individuals at increased risk at a very young age. It is important that youth adopt healthy attitudes toward gambling, such that they recognize it is not a way to make money, nor is it a healthy way to escape from life stressors. The implementation of prevention programs, as well as providing therapeutic support for those experiencing problems, remains essential. While somewhat similar in many ways to other adolescent high-risk behaviors, gambling problems among youth have gone relatively unnoticed. Often referred to as the hidden addiction, all individuals working with adolescents are well advised to understand and address this issue.

Why do young adults gamble online? A qualitative study of motivations to transition from social casino games to online gambling

AbstractThe present research examined the mechanisms of initiating online gambling among young adults. Of particular interest was whether social casino gaming was noted as part of young adults’ experience with online gambling. This is because there is growing concern that social casino gaming may be a ‘gateway’ to online gambling. Three focus groups (Nxa0=xa021) were conducted with young adult online gamblers from two large Canadian Universities. Participants noted the role of peer influence as well as incentives (e.g., sign up bonuses) as important factors that motivated them to start engaging in online gambling. Participants also noted a link between social casino games and online gambling. Specifically, several young adults reported migrating to online gambling within a relatively short period after engaging with social casino games. Potential mechanisms that may lead to the migration from social casino games to online gambling included the role of advertisements and the inflated pay out rates on these free to play gambling like games. The results suggest initiatives to prevent the development of disordered gambling should understand the potential of social casino gaming to act as a gateway to online gambling, especially amongst this vulnerable population.n

Prevenzione e trattamento del gioco d’azzardo problematico e patologico negli adolescenti

Gli ultimi 10 anni hanno testimoniato un rinnovato interesse per gli aspetti negativi del gioco d’azzardo. Commissioni nazionali in Australia, Nuova Zelanda, Regno Unito e Stati Uniti hanno iniziato a esaminare i benefici economici e i costi sociali dell’espansione del gioco d’azzardo. Contemporaneamente, i ricercatori hanno intrapreso un processo di valutazione delle conseguenze negative del gioco d’azzardo problematico e patologico per le popolazioni ad alto rischio. Nonostante queste problematiche siano state viste come di pertinenza dell’eta adulta, prove recenti indicano che il gioco d’azzardo e un’attivita popolare tra i giovani. E stato stimato che tra il 4 e l’8% degli adolescenti ha, attualmente, un problema grave legato al gioco d’azzardo e che un altro 10–14% rimane a rischio di sviluppo di un disturbo grave legato al gioco d’azzardo (Jacobs 2000; National Research Council 1999; Shaffer e Hall 1996) (Capitolo 5, “Adolescenti e giovani adulti”).