The Gambling Factors Related with the Level of Adolescent Problem Gambler

Abstract

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.

Attitudes, Risk Factors, and Behaviours of Gambling among Adolescents and Young People: A Literature Review and Gap Analysis

“…Most studies observed whether young people had ever participated in gambling or had gambled within the previous 12 months, and reported the prevalence of problem gambling, which was typically reported as low or moderate risk of problem gambling, or problem gambling. Lifetime participation in gambling rates ranged between 42.1% [10] and 89.9% [20], with the majority of studies that examined gambling participation reporting that around a third or more of adolescents or young adults confirmed that they had gambled at least once in their lifetime [10,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. Gambling participation rates during the past 12 months ranged between 18.6% [38] to 85% [23].…”

“…Adolescent problem gambling can lead to many complex problems, such as criminal behaviour, poor academic achievement, school truancy, financial problems, depressive symptoms, suicide, low self-esteem, deterioration of social relationships, and substance abuse [10]. More than two thirds of adult gamblers have reported that exposure to gambling during adolescence was a key contributing factor to their current gambling [11], indicating that preventive measures taken to reduce gambling during adolescent years could potentially reduce the prevalence of problem gambling in the adult population.…”

Social Ecological Model of Problem Gambling: A Cross-National Survey Study of Young People in the United States, South Korea, Spain, and Finland

“…The NGCC controls the number of gambling businesses in the country as well as media content so that advertising is not released that may inspire excessive gambling. Limited gambling activities are legal and accessible for Koreans older than 18 years of age, as Korean citizens are only allowed to gamble in one of its casinos and participate in legal sports betting or lotteries [ 72 , 73 ].…”

Social Ecological Model of Problem Gambling: A Cross-National Survey Study of Young People in the United States, South Korea, Spain, and Finland

“…Globally, the prevalence of problem gambling ranges from 0 to 6%, and despite some differences in prevalence rates, findings across countries are quite consistent [1]. Recent findings show that gambling problems are particularly high among young people in Spain [49][50], whereas the United States, South Korea, and Finland are somewhat more analogous in their youth problemgambling prevalence rates [1,[51][52].…”