Patterns and characteristics of adolescent gambling

Minnesota youth (15 to 18-years of age) were surveyed regarding their gambling experiences and psychosocial risk status. Gambling was reported by most of the subjects, with 8.7% classified as problem gamblers. Correlates of problem gambling included school difficulties, regular drug use, delinquency, parental gambling, and being male. Adolescent gambling is conceptualized as a normal experience of youth, yet those in the problem gambling group may be particularly vulnerable to future gambling problems.The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Minnesota Department of Human Services for their funding support of the study and to several colleagues, particularly Linda Harris, J. Clark Laundergan and Durand Jacobs, and anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.