The role of family, religiosity, and behavior in adolescent gambling

Religiosity, Financial Risk Taking, and Reward Processing: An Experimental Study

The present study investigated the extent to which financial risk-taking (FRT) perspectives and religiosity influenced an individual's performance on financial decision-making tasks under risk and/or uncertainty. It further investigated the potential to measure this interaction using electro-encephalogram (EEG) assessments through reward-related event-related potentials (P3 and FRN). EEG data were collected from 37 participants undergoing four decision-making tasks comprising the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), Iowa Gambling Test (IGT), Mixed-Gamble Loss-Aversion Task (MGLAT), and MGLA-Success Task (MGLAST). The present study found that BART performance may be affected by an interaction of FRT perspectives and religiosity. The physiological effects of task feedback were also distinguished between religious and non-religious individuals objectively with EEG data. Overall, while religiosity and FRT may not significantly influence IGT and MGLA performance, and interact with BART in a complex way, physiological reaction towards feedback after BART performance appears to be strongly affected by religiosity and FRT perspectives.

How Does Religiosity Influence Gambling? A Cross-Cultural Study Between Portuguese and English Youth

Research has shown that religion can play a protective role in diverse risky behaviors among young people. However, very little is known about the effect of religion in gambling, especially among young problem gamblers. A strong moral belief regarding gambling may prevent adolescents and young adults engaging in gambling and developing problems. Nevertheless, some evidence suggests that religion might have an influence on gambling cognitive distortions (i.e., some religious beliefs might influence the conceptions of chance and luck, which may contribute to an increase in gambling participation). The present study examined the different effects that religion can have on gambling behavior, in two different cultural contexts (i.e., Portugal and England), characterized by different religious affiliations. A sample (n = 725) comprising Portuguese (n = 312) and English (n = 413) adolescents and young adults completed an online survey. The findings indicated that Portuguese youth were more religious than their English counterparts. Moreover, religiosity was associated with lower gambling engagement among participants in both samples. Mediation analyses also showed that the cognitive distortion of illusion of control mediated the relationship between religiosity and problem gambling among the Portuguese participants, and the interpretative bias was a significant mediator in the English sample. The study's findings suggest that religion can have a protective role on gambling behaviors. However, further research is needed to explore the interactive role of religion and cognitive distortions.

Social Contagion and General Diffusion Models of Adolescent Religious Transitions: A Tutorial, and EMOSA Applications

Epidemic Models of the Onset of Social Activities (EMOSA) describe behaviors that spread through social networks. Two social influence methods are represented, social contagion (one-to-one spread) and general diffusion (spread through cultural channels). Past models explain problem behaviors-smoking, drinking, sexuality, and delinquency. We provide review, and a tutorial (including examples). Following, we present new EMOSA models explaining changes in adolescent and young adult religious participation. We fit the model to 10 years of data from the 1997 U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Innovations include a three-stage bi-directional model, Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation, graphical innovations, and empirical validation. General diffusion dominated rapid reduction in church attendance during adolescence; both diffusion and social contagion explained church attendance stability in early adulthood.

Adolescent gambling behavior: a gender oriented prevention strategy is required?

BACKGROUND

Studies published on gender-related differences in the gambling behavior of adolescents have focused mainly on psychological and social factors. The aim of this study was to develop separate risk factor models for male and female adolescents, considering the environmental, psychological, behavioral and socio-economic factors related to their gambling.

METHODS

A survey was conducted through a questionnaire developed on a dedicated web site in 2014 on a representative sample of the Italian 15-19-years-old population, including 34,922 students attending 438 secondary schools. The SOGS-RA questionnaire was used to measure gambling behavior. To verify the risk factors associated with gambling a logistic regression stratified by gender was performed.

RESULTS

In our representative sample of Italian adolescents nationwide, the prevalence of each level of gambling was higher in males than in females. The logistic regression stratified by gender found that for both genders, gambling was positively associated with internet surfing, playing sports, getting into a fight, having unprotected sex, pulling stunts, drinking alcohol at least once in the previous month, having not a satisfactory relationship with teachers, receiving pocket money from parents, spending each week much money and having someone in the family (father, sister/brother, other relatives) who gambles. On the other hand, having poor or average school marks, going to ED in the previous year, smoking at least once in the previous month, having dissatisfied with relationships with father and having a lower family income than their friends was only associated with gambling in boys. Having an accident or injury in the previous year and having a mother who gambled was associated only in girls with higher odd of at risk or problem gambling behavior. A low psychological distress is protective only in girls for risk of gambling.

CONCLUSIONS

Understanding the gender-related differences, and how they emerge in younger people at the start of their gambling careers, can suggest how best to educate individuals, families and the community on the topic of gambling. Programs to prevent substance use and abuse should be multifaceted, and include efforts to prevent gambling with a gender perspective approach.

Who becomes addicted and to what? psychosocial predictors of substance and behavioral addictive disorders

A multitude of psychological and social factors likely contribute to the development and maintenance of addictive disorders. As different people develop different addictions, it is important to understand whether psychosocial factors are related differently to different types of addictive disorders. In this study, we examined the unique interaction of personality traits, family environment, and life events in predicting substance (drugs, alcohol) and behavioral (gambling, sex) addictive disorders, among 207 participants suffering from an addictive disorder and 79 controls. Results identified several psychosocial factors, including impulsivity and reported negative life events, that predicted all types of addictive disorders. There was also a unique prediction model for each addiction. Drug and alcohol use disorders were predicted by lower agreeableness and less intellectual-cultural family orientation, with alcohol use disorder further predicted by lower extraversion and higher family organization. Gambling disorder was predicted by a family with lower intellectual-cultural orientation and higher organization and control, whereas compulsive sexual behavior was predicted by lower extraversion and agreeableness and higher neuroticism, and by higher family control. These findings suggest that the complex interplay among psychosocial factors is manifested differently across addictive disorders and may thus have important implications for research, prevention, and intervention.

Gambling in adolescence: a narrative review of the last 20 years

BACKGROUND

Gambling has increasingly become a problem in adolescence over the last 20 years. Previous research has failed to identify exactly the level of involvement of adolescents in gambling, yet a relevant presence of addictive behaviors was noticed.

OBJECTIVE

This narrative review highlights the implications of adolescent gambling, taking into consideration the main risk and protection factors aimed at limiting gambling activity, as well as the main links with the impulse-control disorder, addiction, and behavioral addiction.

METHODS

The review process was conducted through Medline, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar search engines. The considered keywords were "Gambling" AND "Adolescence," "Behavioral addiction," AND "Adolescence." The articles related to gambling and adolescence in the last 20 years were included in compliance with inclusion and exclusion criteria, to perform a consistent analysis of the phenomenon and the related maintenance factors.

RESULTS

Starting from 1067 articles, 107 were selected to denote the main thematic areas involved in the gambling problem. The online search was completed on December 13, 2019.

CONCLUSIONS

The narrative review of literature can facilitate the analysis of gambling problems in adolescence, as the main studies in the last 20 years showed the complexity of the problem, the links between addiction, and the most effective methods of prevention and treatment.

Religiosity and Chance Beliefs in Persons with DSM-IV Pathological Gambling Enrolled in a Longitudinal Follow-Up Study

This study investigates the association of public, private and intrinsic religiosity and chance beliefs (superstition, illusion of control) with gambling behavior in a longitudinal follow-up study of younger and older adult subjects with DSM-IV pathological gambling (PG) and an older adult comparison group without PG. One-hundred sixty-three subjects were enrolled including 60 younger adults with PG (≥ 18/< 40 years), 53 older adults with PG (≥ 60 years), and 50 older adults without PG (≥ 60). Subjects were assessed at baseline and every 6 months thereafter. The Duke University Religion Index for Religious Assessment and the Drake Beliefs About Chance scales were administered at baseline. Follow-up was a mean (SD) of 2.6 (1.4) years. Older adults with PG scored lower on measures of public and intrinsic aspects of religiosity than older adults without PG, and scored higher on superstition and illusion of control. Older adults with PG also scored higher than younger adults with PG on private and intrinsic religiosity, but not public religiosity. Superstition predicted intrinsic, but not other aspects of religiosity. Importantly, during follow-up, higher levels of public and intrinsic religiosity were protective against problematic (levels 2, 3) gambling; were protective against chronic PG; and were predictive of PG remission status. Lower illusion of control ratings were protective against problematic gambling and chronic PG; lower superstition ratings were predictive of remission. We conclude that higher levels of public and intrinsic religiosity and lower levels of chance beliefs are associated with a more benign PG course.

Prevalence of youth gambling and potential influence of substance use and other risk factors throughout 33 European countries: first results from the 2015 ESPAD study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Although generally prohibited by national regulations, underage gambling has become popular in Europe, with relevant cross-country prevalence variability. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of underage gambling in Europe stratified by type of game and on-/off-line mode and to examine the association with individual and family characteristics and substance use.

DESIGN

Our study used data from the 2015 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) cross-sectional study, a survey using self-administered anonymous questionnaires.

SETTING

Thirty-three European countries.

PARTICIPANTS

Sixteen-year-old-year-old students (n = 93 875; F = 50.8%).

MEASUREMENTS

The primary outcome measure was prevalence of past-year gambling activity. Key predictors comprised individual behaviours, substance use and parenting (regulation, monitoring and caring).

FINDINGS

A total of 22.6% of 16-year-old students in Europe gambled in the past year: 16.2% on-line, 18.5% off-line. High prevalence variability was observed throughout countries both for mode and types of game. With the exception of cannabis, substance use shows a higher association with gambling, particularly binge drinking [odds ratio (OR) = 1.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.39-1.53), life-time use of inhalants (OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.47-1.68) and other substances (OR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.65-1.92)]. Among life habits, the following showed a positive association: truancy at school (OR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.18-1.35), going out at night (OR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.26-1.38), participating in sports (OR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.24-1.37). A negative association was found with reading books for leisure (OR = 0.82%, 95% CI = 0.79-0.86), parents' monitoring of Saturday night activities (OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.77-0.86) and restrictions on money provided by parents as a gift (OR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.84-0.94).

CONCLUSIONS

Underage gambling in Europe appears to be associated positively with alcohol, tobacco and other substance use (but not cannabis), as well as with other individual behaviours such as truancy, going out at night and active participation in sports, and is associated negatively with reading for pleasure, parental monitoring of evening activities and parental restriction of money.

The protective role of religiosity against problem gambling: findings from a five-year prospective study

BACKGROUND

Little research has examined the potential protective influence of religiosity against problem gambling; a common addictive behavior, and one with a host of associated negative health and social outcomes. The aims of this study were to examine (1) the potential longitudinal association between religiosity and problem gambling among adults and (2) the potential moderating role of gender on this association.

METHODS

Data were from five waves of the Quinte Longitudinal Study (QLS), between 2006 and 2010. Participants were Canadian adults from Belleville, Ontario, Canada (n = 4121). A multiple group (based on gender) latent growth curve analysis was conducted to examine the overall trajectory of problem gambling severity. Two models were tested; the first examined the influence of past-year religious service attendance, and the second examined an overall measure of personal religiosity on the trajectory of problem gambling. The Problem and Pathological Gambling Measure (PPGM) was used as a continuous measure. The Rohrbaugh-Jessor Religiosity Scale (RJRS) was used to assess past-year frequency of religious service attendance and personal religiosity. Religious affiliation (Protestant, Catholic, Atheist/Agnostic, Other, Prefer not to say) was also included in the models.

RESULTS

At baseline, higher frequency of past-year religious service attendance (males: β= -0.54, females: β= -0.68, p < 0.001 for both) and greater overall personal religiosity (males: β= -0.17, females: β= -0.13, p < 0.001 for both) were associated with lower PPGM scores. The moderating effect of gender indicated that the influence of past-year religious service attendance was greater among females (χ²diff₍₄₄₎ = 336.8, p < 0.001); however, the effect of overall religiosity was greater among males (χ²diff₍₃₆₎ = 213.4, p < 0.001). Findings were mixed with respect to religious affiliation. No measures of religiosity or religious affiliation were associated with the overall decline in problem gambling severity.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that religiosity may act as a static protective factor against problem gambling severity but may play a less significant role in predicting change in problem gambling severity over time.

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

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.

"I Am Becoming More and More Like My Eldest Brother!": The Relationship Between Older Siblings, Adolescent Gambling Severity, and the Attenuating Role of Parents in a Large-Scale Nationally Representative Survey Study

The present study examined the association between having older siblings who gamble and adolescent at-risk/problem gambling and how parents (i.e., parental knowledge of their whereabouts) and peers might moderate such effects. Data were drawn from the ESPAD^®Italia2012 survey (European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs) comprising a nationally representative Italian sample of adolescents. The analysis was carried out on a subsample of 10,063 Italian students aged 15-19 years (average age = 17.10; 55 % girls) who had at least one older sibling and who had gambled at some point in their lives. Respondents' problem gambling severity, older gambler sibling, gambler peers, parental knowledge, and socio-demographic characteristics were individually assessed. Multinomial logistic regression analyses including two- and three-way interactions were conducted. The odds of being an at-risk/problem gambler were higher among high school students with older siblings that gambled and those with peers who gambled. Higher parental knowledge (of who the adolescent was with and where they were in their leisure time) was associated with lower rates of at-risk/problem gambling. There was also an interaction between gamblers with older siblings and parental knowledge. The combination of having siblings who gambled and a greater level of parental knowledge was associated with lower levels of problem gambling. The present study confirmed the occurrence of social risk processes (older siblings and peers who gambled) and demonstrated that gambling among older siblings and peers represents an important contextual factor for increased at-risk/problem gambling. However, parental knowledge appears to be sufficient to counterbalance the influence of older siblings.

The relationship between gambling attitudes, involvement, and problems in adolescence: Examining the moderating role of coping strategies and parenting styles

INTRODUCTION

Several factors are associated with an increased risk of adolescent problem gambling, including positive gambling attitudes, higher levels of gambling involvement, ineffective coping strategies and unhelpful parenting practices. It is less clear, however, how these factors interact or influence each other in the development of problem gambling behavior during adolescence. The aim of the current study was to simultaneously explore these predictors, with a particular focus on the extent to which coping skills and parenting styles may moderate the expected association between gambling involvement and gambling problems.

METHODS

Participants were 612 high school students. The data were analyzed using a zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) regression model, controlling for gender.

RESULTS

Although several variables predicted the number of symptoms associated with problem gambling, none of them predicted the probability of displaying any problem gambling. Gambling involvement fully mediated the relationship between positive gambling attitudes and gambling problem severity. There was a significant relationship between gambling involvement and problems at any level of problem focused coping, reference to others and inconsistent discipline. However, adaptive coping styles employed by adolescents and consistent disciplinary practices by parents were buffers of gambling problems at low levels of adolescent gambling involvement, but failed to protect adolescents when their gambling involvement was high.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings indicate that research exploring the development of gambling problems is required and imply that coping and parenting interventions may have particular utility for adolescents who are at risk of development gambling problems but who are not gambling frequently.

Gambling Motives: Application of the Reasons for Gambling Questionnaire in an Australian Population Survey

The Reasons for Gambling Questionnaire (RGQ) consist of 15 items forming five factors: enhancement, social, money, recreation and coping. The RGQ was developed for use in the 2010 British Gambling Prevalence Survey (BGPS) and has now been employed in the second Social and Economic Impact Study (SEIS) of Gambling in Tasmania study conducted in 2011 in Australia. Given differences between Britain and Australia in terms of socio-demographic profiles, gambling cultures and attitudes, gambling access and availability, gambling regulation, and rates and patterns of gambling participation, the aims of this study were to analyse the RGQ data from the SEIS to: (1) determine the most commonly endorsed gambling motives in an Australian jurisdiction, (2) explore the factor structure of the RGQ in an Australian sample, and (3) explore how motives for gambling vary among different Australian population sub-groups. A representative sample of the Tasmanian population who had gambled in the previous 12 months (n = 2,796) were administered the RGQ via computer-assisted telephone interviewing. The five most commonly endorsed reasons for gambling were for fun (62%), followed by the chance of winning big money (52%), it being something to do with friends and family (48%), to be sociable (40%), and excitement (38%). A principal component analysis revealed a five-factor structure that is slightly different from that derived in the BGPS: money, regulate internal state, positive feelings, social, and challenge reasons. Finally, gambling motives varied according to socio-demographic factors, number of gambling activities, problem gambling severity, and participation on different gambling activities. Although some of these findings are consistent with those from the BGPS, there are also some slight differences, suggesting that there may be regional-specific variations in gambling motives.

Is religiosity a protective factor against suicidal behavior in bipolar I outpatients?

BACKGROUND

Several risk factors have been associated with suicidal behavior (SB) in bipolar disorder (BD), but little is known regarding possible protective factors. Religiosity has been related to favorable outcomes in mental health and to a reduction in the risk of SB, although the relation between BD, religiosity and SB remains under-investigated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between religiosity and SB in euthymic bipolar I outpatients.

METHOD

In this study, 164 outpatients with BD type I with and without a history of suicide attempts were assessed and compared using a questionnaire to collect clinical and sociodemographic characteristics, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the Young Mania Rating Scale, the Duke Religious Index, and the Barratt Impulsivity Scale.

RESULTS

The suicide attempters (SA) group had more psychiatric comorbidity (p=0.007), more rapid cycling (p=0.004), higher levels of impulsivity in all domains (p=0.000), and less religious affiliation (p=0.006) compared with the non-SA group. In the multivariate analysis, after controlling for covariates, non-organizational religious activities (OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.50-0.86) and intrinsic religiosity (OR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.60-0.81) were associated with less SB.

LIMITATIONS

A small sample size, the cross-sectional design that precluded the possibility of assessing cause and effect relationships, and the infeasibility of determining the time lapse between the last suicide attempt and the period when the patients were evaluated.

CONCLUSION

Non-organizational religious activities and intrinsic religiosity dimensions exert a protective effect against SB in bipolar I outpatients, even when controlling for variables that may affect the outcome in question.

Adolescent online gambling in Cyprus: associated school performance and psychopathology

This paper presents results from the study of gambling behaviors in a representative sample of Cypriot high-school students. The aim of the study was to ascertain epidemiology of adolescent online gambling in Cyprus and possible correlates. The sample consisted of 2,684 students (48.5% boys, 51.5% girls) from the first grades of junior (Gymnasium) and senior (Lyceum) high school. Our results indicate that gamblers presented with lower school achievement and related expectations while scoring consistently higher on measures of Internet addiction, parental bonding and psychopathology. Discriminant analysis revealed two profiles which explained the most variance in gambling behavior; the first profile that corresponded to more explained variance was the student with higher psychopathology, less prosocial behavior, higher Internet addiction score with higher frequencies of online activities and moderate levels of truancy and lower expectation of school achievement. The second profile was that of a student who reported less psychopathology, more prosocial behavior, less involvement with the Internet in general but skipped classes more and his prospects on finishing high school were even slimmer. These results will be utilized in the design of a comprehensive prevention program in an effort to combat online addictive behaviors.

Complex factors and behaviors in the gambling population of Italy

Gambling has seen significant growth globally, and particularly in Italy: it has rapidly evolved from a simple recreational activity to represent 4% of Italian GDP in 2010.A sample of 4.494 gamblers was drawn from IPSAD-Italia(®)2007-2008 (Italian Population Survey on Alcohol and Drugs) in order to examine different gambling patterns (assessed using the Canadian Problem Gambling Index Short form scale).Separate analysis was performed on young adults, age 15-24 (n = 1,241; male 56.2%), and adults, age 25-64 (n = 3,253; male 53.8%): compared with adults, Italian youth, although they gambled less (35.7% vs. 45.3%), appeared to have higher prevalence of low risk gambling (6.9% vs. 5.8%) and moderate risk or problem gambling (2.3% vs. 2.2%). Males are more likely to be moderate-risk or problem gamblers. Those with only a primary education are more likely to be moderate-risk or problem gamblers (young adults: RRR = 5.22; adults: RRR = 3.23) than those with a university education, just like those youth who use depressants, but only among younger (RRR = 3.38).A fundamental issue, "do not disapprove of gambling", seems to relate to problematic gambling: a specific Italian legislation, the Abruzzi Decree Law, could have influenced the perception that gambling may contribute positively to provide additional funds to the government for social good as well as to add needed jobs. Regardless of such potential social benefits, gambling is a social epidemic and if this association should be confirmed by more focused studies, policy makers should evaluate ways to affect this perception as soon as possible.