Objectives: There are presently no data available concerning Internet addiction (IA) problems among adolescents in Canada and the province of Quebec. The goal of this study is thus to document and compare the influence of gender on Internet use and addiction.Method: The study data were collected from a larger research project on gambling among adolescents. Activities conducted online (applications used and time spent) as well as answers to the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) were collected from 3938 adolescents from grades 9 to 11. The two most often employed cut-off points for the IAT in the literature were documented: (40-69 and 70þ) and (50þ).Results: Boys spent significantly more time on the Internet than did girls. A greater proportion of the girls made intense use of social networks, whereas a greater proportion of the boys made intense use of massively multiplayer online role-playing games, online games, and adult sites. The proportion of adolescents with a potential IA problem varied according to the cut-off employed. When the cut-off was set at 70þ, 1.3% of the adolescents were considered to have an IA, while 41.7% were seen to be at risk. At a 50þ cut-off, 18% of the adolescents were considered to have a problem. There was no significant difference between the genders concerning the proportion of adolescents considered to be at risk or presenting IA problems. Finally, analysis of the percentile ranks would seem to show that a cut-off of 50þ better describes the category of young people at risk.
Background and Aims Few meta‐analyses have been conducted to pool the most constant risk factors for problem gambling. The present meta‐analysis summarizes effect sizes of the most frequently assessed problem gambling risk factors, ranks them according to effect size strength and identifies any differences in effects across genders. Method A random‐effects meta‐analysis was conducted on jurisdiction‐wide gambling prevalence surveys on the general adult population published until March 2019. One hundred and four studies were eligible for meta‐analysis. The number of participants varied depending on the risk factor analyzed, and ranged from 5327 to 273 946 (52% female). Weighted mean odds ratios were calculated for 57 risk factors (socio‐demographic, psychosocial, gambling activity and substance use correlates), allowing them to be ranked from largest to smallest with regard to their association with problem gambling. Results The highest odds ratio (OR) was for internet gambling [OR = 7.59, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 5.24, 10.99, P < 0.000] and the lowest was for employment status (OR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.87, 1.22, P = 0.718). The largest effect sizes were generally in the gambling activity category and the smallest were in the socio‐demographic category. No differences were found across genders for age‐associated risk. Conclusions A meta‐analysis of 104 studies of gambling prevalence indicated that the most frequently assessed problem gambling risk factors with the highest effect sizes are associated with continuous‐play format gambling products.
La Grille de dépistage de la consommation problématique d’alcool et de drogues chez les adolescents (DEP-ADO) a été créée pour répondre aux besoins des milieux de pratique québécois. Cet article rapporte les résultats de deux études portant sur les qualités psychométriques de la DEP-ADO. Une première étude a révélé que l’outil était pertinent et possédait une très bonne validité d’apparence, tant auprès des intervenants que des jeunes. Une seconde étude a été menée auprès de 673 élèves de 14 à 17 ans provenant de trois écoles secondaires du Québec et de 64 jeunes inscrits dans des centres de réadaptation en toxicomanie pour évaluer la structure factorielle, la fidélité et la validité de l’outil. Les résultats indiquent que les qualités psychométriques de la DEP-ADO sont nettement satisfaisantes et se comparent avantageusement à celles constatées auprès des autres outils de repérage de la consommation abusive de substances psychoactives chez les adolescents (validité de construit, cohérence interne, fidélité test-retest et inter modes de passation, validité critériée concomitante). Fait intéressant, les analyses factorielles ont permis d’identifier, en plus d’un facteur global, trois facteurs dont le sens clinique est bien identifiable (consommation d’alcool et de cannabis, consommation d’autres drogues, conséquences de la consommation de substances psychoactives). Tout en confirmant de façon globale la validité et la fidélité de la version originale, l’étude a également permis d’y apporter des améliorations et d’ouvrir des perspectives nouvelles sur l’utilisation qui peut en être faite.The chart used to screen problem consumption of alcohol and drugs among adolescents (La Grille de dépistage de la consommation problématique d’alcool et de drogues chez les adolescents/DEP-ADO) was created to meet the needs of drug addiction centres in Quebec. This article reports on the results of two studies on the psychometric qualities of the DEP-ADO. The first demonstrated that the tool was pertinent and appeared to have excellent face validity, for practitioners as well as youth. The second study, involving 673 students from 14 to 17 years of age from three secondary schools in Quebec and 64 youth registered in drug addiction rehabilitation centres, was carried out to evaluate the factor pattern, reliability and the validity of the tool. The results indicated that the psychometric qualities of the DEP-ADO were clearly satisfactory and compare advantageously to those of other screening tools for abusive consumption of psychoactive substances among adolescents (construct validity, internal consistency, test-retest and intermodal execution reliability, concomitant criterion referenced validity). It is interesting that, in addition to an overall factor, the factorial analyses enabled the identification of three factors the clinical meaning of which was clearly identifiable (consumption of alcohol and cannabis, consumption of other drugs, consequences of the consumption of psychoactive substances). While generally confirming the v...
Internet gambling among adolescents is a growing phenomenon that has received little attention to date. This study examines associations between Internet gambling and the severity of gambling, substance use (SU), and delinquent behavior among 1,870 Quebec students aged 14 to 18. The results show a higher proportion of Internet-gambling (IG) students reporting problematic substance use and delinquency, compared with nongamblers (NG) and non-Internet gamblers (NIG). Furthermore, a higher proportion of at-risk and probable pathological gamblers are found among IG compared with NIG. A moderating effect (Baron & Kenny, 1986) of the gambler categories (NIG, IG) was found in the relationship between the associated problems and the severity of gambling. Among IG, the severity of delinquency and of substance use contributes to explaining gambling severity whereas, among NIG, the severity of delinquency is the only factor that significantly contributes to such an explanation. Discussion of the results is based on Jessor, Donovan, and Costa's (1991) general deviance syndrome theory.
From a phenomenological perceptual stance, we aim, in this article at revealing youths' own personal perceptions regarding the drug-crime nexus in their trajectories. Within a qualitative research approach, autobiographical accounts were used with 38 young drug users and delinquents between 16 and 18 years old (22 boys and 16 girls). With the reference point of this article being Goldstein's (1985) tripartite drug-crime model, our results show support for parts of this model as well as nuances to it. Also, another type of drug-crime nexus emerged from these accounts. More specifically, a “psychopharmacological” and a “monetary” drug-crime link were described by youths, and an absent or intermediary relation too. Goldstein's systemic model did not merge in this study. Personal feelings, meanings and logic of youths permit us to elaborate on and further qualify these drug-crime nexuses in the trajectories of young drug users and delinquents.
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