Problem Gambling among Adolescent Girls in Croatia—The Role of Different Psychosocial Predictors

Abstract

Although, compared to boys, adolescent girls gamble less often and less problematically, prevalence studies still show significant numbers of at risk/problem gamblers among girls. However, girl gambling has been on the sidelines of adolescent gambling research. The available studies usually focus only on a narrow set of correlates often ignoring that adolescent gambling is a complex phenomenon determined by various factors. Also, they often measure gambling related consequences with instruments that are not specifically developed for use on adolescents. In order to contribute to a better understanding of adolescent gambling this study focuses on problem gambling among girls. We consider different social, cognitive, motivational and behavioral factors as predictors of girl problem gambling. A total of 1,372 high-school girls from 7 Croatian cities participated in the study. They provided data on their gambling activities, peer gambling, cognitive distortions related to gambling, motivation for gambling, and levels of general risky behavior. As the only instrument developed specifically for use on adolescents, the Canadian Adolescent Gambling Inventory was used to examine adverse gambling consequences. Results show 7.4% of girls can be considered regular gamblers, and out of those who gambled at least once in their lifetime (n = 862), 11.2% already experience mild adverse consequences because of their gambling (at risk gamblers), with 3.2% experiencing serious consequences (problem gamblers). In general, girls seem to prefer lotto and scratch cards, but sports betting seems to be the preferred game of choice among regular girl gamblers. A hierarchical regression model confirmed the importance of much the same factors identified as risky for the development of problem gambling among adolescent boys—cognitive distortions, motives to earn money, to be better at gambling and to relax, the experiences of winning large and the drive to continue gambling, together with social factors such as having friends who also gamble, being involved in other risky and delinquent behavior and higher gambling frequency. Results call into question the importance of the motive to feel better for adolescent girls problem gambling. We discuss implications of our findings for both universal and indicated youth gambling prevention programs.

Longitudinal Changes in Gambling, Buying and Materialism in Adolescents: A Population-Based Study

“…For their part, males reported significant decreases in materialism, especially in the measure of success. When compared with males, adolescent females engage in gambling behaviors less frequently, and this may explain the decrease in gambling-related cognitive biases [ 62 ]. In addition, it has been proposed that changes in emotional regulation capacity and motivations that occur over the years could influence a decrease in involvement in risk situations [ 63 ].…”

Gambling-Related Distortions and Problem Gambling in Adolescents: A Model to Explain Mechanisms and Develop Interventions

“…Participants included 306 male adolescents ( M age = 17.2 years, SD = 1.5, range: 14–24) who attended high school in Italy (Tuscany). In line with some studies (e.g., Vitaro et al, 2004 ; Ricijas et al, 2016 ), we recruited only boys. Indeed, despite the expansion of the gambling industry has modified the male-dominated gambling culture ( Dowling, 2013 ), gender differences in gambling behavior have been reported, indicating that boys are more likely than girls to gamble and to report gambling problems (see Splevins et al, 2010 ; Calado et al, 2016 , for reviews).…”

Adolescent Problem Gambling in Rural Ghana: Prevalence and Gender Differentiation

“…Male-females estimates of severe gambling-related problems among adolescents have been found to range between 3:1 and 5:1, inadvertently leading to a disproportionate focus on male gambling behaviours in the gambling literature (Ellenbogen et al 2007 ; Jacobs 2004 ). Although some recent studies have focused exclusively on female gambling behaviours (Derevensky et al 2011 ; Derevensky and Gupta 2005a ; Huic et al 2017 ), it is worthy to note that for both males and females with severe gambling problems, strong comorbidity with depression and substance use, and other risk behaviours have been found (Ellenbogen et al 2007 ).…”