Gambling in Spanish Adolescents: Prevalence and Association with Mental Health Indicators

Alicia Pérez-Albéniz, Mario Gil, Adriana Díez-Gómez, Gema Martín-Seoane and Beatriz Lucas-Molina
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Alicia Pérez-Albéniz: Department of Educational Sciences, University of La Rioja, 26002 Logrono, Spain
Mario Gil: Department of Educational Sciences, University of La Rioja, 26002 Logrono, Spain
Adriana Díez-Gómez: Department of Educational Sciences, University of La Rioja, 26002 Logrono, Spain
Gema Martín-Seoane: Department of Research and Psychology Education, Complutense University of Madrid, 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcon, Spain
Beatriz Lucas-Molina: Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Concern about the development of behavioral addictions in adolescence, including gambling, has increased in recent years. Evidence shows that problem gambling can lead to personal, social, or health problems. However, even though gambling is an illegal activity, studies on this problem are quite limited in Spain. The main objective of this study was to analyze the prevalence of gambling in adolescents in Spain. Moreover, gambling behaviors were examined according to gender and age, and their possible relationship with several mental health indicators was analyzed. The results showed that 20.6% of the adolescents who participated in the study had gambled money in the past year. The highest gambling prevalence was found in boys and in adolescents from the age of 16 years old. Moreover, the results showed that gambling behavior was related to different mental health indicators.

Keywords: gambling; mental health; prevalence; adolescence; behavioral addictions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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