A Longitudinal Analysis of Gambling Predictors among Adolescents

Álvaro Botella-Guijarro, Daniel Lloret-Irles, José Vicente Segura-Heras, Víctor Cabrera-Perona and Juan Antonio Moriano
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Álvaro Botella-Guijarro: Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), 28015 Madrid, Spain
Daniel Lloret-Irles: Health Psychology Department Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, 03202 Elche, Spain
José Vicente Segura-Heras: Department of Statistics, Mathematics and Informatics Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, 03202 Elche, Spain
Víctor Cabrera-Perona: Health Psychology Department Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, 03202 Elche, Spain
Juan Antonio Moriano: Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), 28015 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 24, 1-18

Abstract: Although gambling is forbidden for minors, the prevalence of gambling among adolescents is increasing. In order to improve preventive interventions, more evidence on predictors of gambling onset is needed. A longitudinal study was proposed to (1) establish the prevalence of gambling; (2) identify factors associated with gambling behavior the following year; and (3) adjust a model to predict gambling behavior. A cohort of 1074 students (13–18 years old) was followed for 12 months. The prevalence of gambling reached 42.0% in the second measure. Boys gambled 2.7 times more than girls, and the highest percentages of gambling onset showed up between 13 and 14 years old. Gambling onset and maintenance was associated with gender, age, sensation-seeking, risk perception, self-efficacy for not gambling, parents’ attitude towards gambling, group pressure (friends), subjective norm, exposure to advertising, accessibility, normative perception, gambling in T 1 and parents gambling behavior. Gender, gambling in T 1 and risk perception were significant in all three logistic adjusted regression models, with the fourth variable being sensation seeking, peer pressure (friends) and accessibility, respectively. It is suggested that universal prevention should be aimed preferably at children under 15 years old and to alert regulators and public administrations to the directly proportional relationship between accessibility and gambling onset.

Keywords: gambling; adolescence; generalized linear model (GLM); risk factor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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