What mental health professionals in Israel know and think about adolescent problem gambling

Mental health professionals are well versed in addressing multiple adolescent risky behaviours and play a primary role in the identification of and referral process and service provision for young people who engage in such behaviours. Given their ‘person-in-environment’ approach, training in multi-sectoral collaboration, and awareness of social policies, social workers are especially equipped to provide needed mental health services to young people. The aim of the current study was to examine Israeli mental health professionals’ awareness of and attitudes towards adolescent high-risk behaviours, including gambling. Child psychologists, social workers and school counsellors (N = 273) completed an online survey addressing concerns related to high-risk behaviours. Findings revealed that social workers perceived gambling as being among one of the least concerning adolescent mental health issues and reported feeling the least confident in their abilities to provide services to young people with gambling problems. The results suggest the importance of youth gambling addictions being incorporated into social work training curricula.     

Adolescents with Gambling Problems: From Research to Treatment

Considerable interest in the area of youth gambling has prompted an increase in empirical investigations examining the correlates associated with youth experiencing severe gambling problems. Based upon the current state of knowledge and our clinical experience, the development of the treatment program for youth with serious gambling problems employed at the McGill University Youth Gambling Research and Treatment Clinic is described. The major tenets, underlying philosophy, and therapeutic processes are presented. A case study is included to illustrate the therapeutic approach. The authors present the need for greater funding for more basic and applied research and the necessity for further scientifically validated treatment and prevention programs.     

Prevalence Rates of Youth Gambling Problems: Are the Current Rates Inflated?

While there is a general consensus in the literature that it is common for youth to gamble, considerable variability in the reported prevalence rates of youth problem gambling has been found. More recently, issues concerning the possible overestimation of these rates have been raised. Arguments underlying the proposition that problem gambling rates for youth are inflated are examined. It is acknowledged that more rigorous research is required, including the need for the development and refinement of current adolescent instruments and screening tools, agreement upon a gold standard criterion for adolescent problem gambling, and clarity of nomenclature issues. The advancement of scientific knowledge concerning the underlying risk factors associated with the onset and course of youth gambling involvement and the role of effective adolescent prevention and treatment programs will require these fundamental research questions to be addressed.     

Adolescent Gambling: Understanding the Role of Stress and Coping

The central variables of stress, coping, and gambling severity were examined along three lines of inquiry. The first addressed whether adolescents with gambling problems reported a greater number of minor or major stressful (i.e., negative) life events relative to others. The second examined whether more with gambling problems employed less-effective coping styles, such as those characterized as less task- or solution-focused, and more emotion- or avoidance-focused coping. Finally, the third question explored whether adolescents’ coping styles mediated the association between stress and gambling severity. Ranging from 11 to 20 years of age, 2,156 high-school students completed instruments assessing gambling involvement, gambling severity, stressful life events, and coping styles. Results indicated that, overall, adolescents with gambling-related problems reported more negative life events relative to social gamblers and non-gamblers. When negative life events were further separated into major and minor events, results revealed that problem gamblers reported more major negative life events but not more minor negative life events relative to others. Results indicated that adolescents with gambling-related problems used less task-focused coping, and more avoidance-focused coping. Males, but not females, who experience gambling-related problems reported using more emotion-focused coping strategies. Finally, emotion-oriented coping was found to mediate the relationship between negative life events and gambling severity. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Adolescent Gambling Behavior: A Prevalence Study and Examination of the Correlates Associated with Problem Gambling

Eight-hundred and seventeen adolescent high school students in the Montreal region completed the DSM-IV-J gambling screen along with a questionnaire devised by the authors inquiring about their gambling behavior, including items assessing the types of activities in which they engage, frequency of involvement, reasons for gambling, and their cognitive perceptions of gambling activities. The results indicate that, in general, 80.2% of students reported having gambled during the previous year, with 35.1% gambling a minimum of once per week. Adolescents reported participating in gambling behavior more often than any other addictive behavior, including cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and illicit drug use. The mean age of onset of gambling behavior for the sample was 11.5 years. The rate of pathological gambling was 4.7% as measured by the DSM-IV-J. Pathological gamblers were more likely to have parents with gambling problems and to be engaging in illegal activities than non-pathological gamblers. Gender differences were evident, with males engaging in gambling activities more than females. Differences in game preferences were found, with males more attracted to sports lottery tickets and sports pool betting and females more attracted to lottery tickets and bingo. Gambling awareness and prevention issues are addressed.     

The gestation and birth of legislation prohibiting the sale of lottery tickets to Israeli minors: some social policy issues

As gambling becomes legalised and readily accessible, more youth are involved in this potentially harmful behaviour. As part of a harm-reduction approach, laws against the sale of lottery tickets to minors have been enacted in many jurisdictions. In October 2007, such a law was passed in Israel, seven years after the bill was first introduced in the Israeli parliament. This paper addresses the reasons why it took so long to pass this legislation. On the basis of archive documents from the Israeli parliament and articles in the press, the primary factors that may answer this question include ignorance of youth gambling as a legitimate phenomenon, opposition by some parts of the establishment and the gambling industry itself, as well as the absence of special interest groups. While this law only begins the movement in developing a responsible social policy for youth, recommendations for responsible social policy are provided.     

Pathways to Pathological Gambling: Component Analysis of Variables Related to Pathological Gambling

Research examining cognitive perceptions among children has suggested the importance of perceived skill and luck in initiating and maintaining gambling behavior. Using an experimentally manipulated gambling paradigm modifying rates of reinforcement the results suggest, in general, that one can modify these cognitions. More importantly, the results from the gambling task were found to generalize to multiple forms of gambling and were maintained over a relatively short period of time. The modifications of these perceptions appear to be easier for younger children (age 10 vs 12), with differential effects being found for boys and girls. The results are discussed in light of our current prevention initiatives and programs.     

Children's Cognitive Perceptions of 6/49 Lottery Tickets

Recent studies have shown the high prevalence of youth gambling behavior. In particular, lottery ticket purchases among children and adolescents appear to be a highly preferred activity. Despite this fact, most research has focused on the underlying erroneous cognitions used by adults when selecting lottery tickets. This study examines the cognitive perceptions of children while engaged in selecting 6/49 lottery tickets. One hundred sixty-seven children (61 females; 106 males) from grades 3, 5, and 7 were asked to rank pre-selected 6/49 lottery tickets which were classified into a) long series, b) specific patterns, c) non equilibrated numbers, or d) perceived random selections. Children verbalized their rationale for selecting each ticket and were permitted to change the numbers on the lottery tickets they liked least in order to make them to more likely to be the winning ticket. Findings, in general, revealed small developmental differences in the types of underlying cognitive heuristics used by the children. The use of cognitive heuristics underlying the concept of randomness and the use of significant and meaningful numbers was observed to increase as children got older. Children between 9 and 11 were found to have employed the cluster heuristic more frequently than older children, ages 12–13. The results are interpreted in terms of the cognitive developmental changes in children's perceptions and the potential implication for gambling prevention programs are provided.     

Teacher Awareness and Attitudes Regarding Adolescent Risky Behaviours: Is Adolescent Gambling Perceived to be a Problem?

Despite legislative prohibitions, there is empirical evidence that youth gamble on both regulated and unregulated activities. The current survey was designed to assess teachers’ awareness and attitudes regarding adolescent gambling and other high-risk behaviours. Three-hundred and ninety teachers from Ontario and Quebec, with experience teaching students aged 12–18, completed an online survey. Results suggest that teachers are aware of the fact that youth gamble. Furthermore, they recognized the addictive nature of gambling and their subsequent consequences. Despite overestimating the proportion of youth experiencing gambling problems, gambling was viewed as being the least serious of issues affecting youth, with drug use and school violence topping the list. Almost half of respondents indicated that gambling in school can constitute a good learning activity. In regards to prevention, all other risky behaviours and academic problems were perceived as issues needing greater attention than gambling. These results, which are largely consistent with findings from a previous study examining parental perceptions of adolescent risky behaviours, suggest a need for greater awareness and teacher education.     

Understanding the Relationship Between Sports-Relevant Gambling and Being At-Risk for a Gambling Problem Among American Adolescents

Fantasy sports is a growing industry with a reported 56.8 million individuals participating in the United States and Canada alone in 2015. Whereas this activity has attracted considerable public attention, little research has examined its impact on adolescents in spite of their high rates of gambling. The current study examined the relationship between regular participation (more than once a month) in sport-relevant gambling activities among adolescents and those identified as being at-risk for a gambling problem. Questionnaire responses were collected from high school students (N = 6818; 49 % male) in Wood County, Ohio, United States. Statistical analyses revealed that regular involvement in sports betting, fantasy sports betting, and daily fantasy sports betting among adolescents was associated with a higher risk of gambling problems. Further, although males participate more frequently in these activities, females who participate have a stronger likelihood of being at-risk. Students aged 16–19 years old are at a higher risk for developing a gambling problem compared to younger adolescents when regularly engaging in sports-related gambling. Moreover, regularly participating in daily fantasy sports is the strongest predictor of at-risk gambling behavior in 13–15 year old students. A hierarchical logistic regression supports that controlling for gender and age, all forms of sport-relevant gambling activities are significant predictors of at-risk gambling. This study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of sports betting and fantasy sports on adolescents and establishes an initial step for future studies to further investigate these relationships.