GAMBLING
FACTS ::
The
U.S. National Gambling Impact Study Commission recently concluded: "One of the most troubling aspects of problem and
pathological gambling is its prevalence among youth and adolescents."
According to Dr. Durand Jacobs, a
psychologist and past Vice President of the National Council on
Problem Gambling, "little will change until society begins to
view teenage gambling with the same alarm directed at drugs and
alcohol. Gambling is the addiction of the 90s." (www.800gambler.org)
In 1980, the American Psychiatric
Association accepted pathological (compulsive) gambling as a "disorder
of impulse control." Teenage compulsive gamblers are driven
to gamble in the same way that an alcoholic needs a periodic
drink or a drug addict needs a "fix." (www.800gambler.org)
- On average, problem gamblers say they began gambling at
about 10 years of age
- The age of onset for gambling has dropped so that now,
throughout America, the majority of 12-year-olds have
already gambled (Jacobs, 2000)
- Studies of young people over the last 10 years report
that about 8% of adolescents, 12 to 17 years old, can be
considered problem gamblers. Further, approximately 15% of
youths were considered to be at risk of developing problems
with gambling
- In a powerful illustration of the importance of the 'age
of onset' as a risk factor for problem gambling; a Minnesota
study showed 60% of high school students who are problem
gamblers had gambled in the 6th grade or before. The same
study showed there were NO problem gamblers among those who
first gambled in the 12th grade (Winters, 1990)
- Results from a study in 2000 showed that approximately
80% of youth, age 12 to 17, had gambled in the last 12
months
- In a recent review of 14 U.S. and 6 Canadian adolescent
gambling studies, Jacobs found that in the past 10 years the
number of teenagers ages 12 to 17 reporting serious gambling
problems has increased by 50%, from 10 to 15 percent
(Jacobs, 2000)
- The prevalence of adolescent problem gamblers is
reported to be from 2 to 4 times higher than that of adult
problem gamblers
- The top four average
adolescent gambling prevalence rates for the last 12 months
(Shaffer, 1998):
- Non-Casino Card Games......40%
- Games
of Skill.....................32%
- Sports
Gambling..................31%
- Lottery................................30%
- A recent study by Louisiana State University Professor
James Westphal surveyed 12,000 adolescents and found that:
- 86% had gambled, including many on legal forms
- 32% on
lotteries
- 24% on video poker
- 16% on slot machines, and
- One in Ten had bet on horse or dog racing
-
In 1991, Atlantic City casinos refused entry
to approximately 194,000 underage gamblers. However, over
21,000 had to be removed from the casino floor. (www.800gambler.org)
- For adolescent problem gamblers, money is often not the
driving factor. The money is simply a vehicle allowing the
youth to continue wagering
- Gambling is generally more popular among young males
than young females
- Problem gambling in adolescents
- Causes the disruption of relationships
- Negatively affects overall school performance and work
activities
- Most underage teens are introduced to gambling by a
parent or adults close to them (CT Partnership for
Responsible Gambling)
- It doesn't matter where they live or who they are -
gambling problems can affect teens from all types of
families, ethnic heritage and socioeconomic backgrounds (CT
Partnership for Responsible Gambling)
- It's easy for many underage teens to hide their gambling
problems from parents, teachers and friends (CT Partnership
for Responsible Gambling)
- Have
poor general coping skills
- Have
lower self esteem
- Have
higher rates of depression
- Dissociate
more frequently when gambling
- Are
at increased risk for the development of an addiction or
poly-addictions
- Have
problems maintaining friendships and relationships; these
relationships are often replaced with gambling associates
- Experience
a rapid movement from social gambler to problem gambler
- Are
usually greater risk takers
- Are
at heightened risk for suicide ideation and suicide attempts
- Problematic
gambling among adolescents has been shown to result in increased
delinquency and crime.
- A study by LSU professor James Westphal drew a link
between compulsive gambling and criminal behavior among
youth. Louisiana adolescents in juvenile detention are
roughly four times as likely to have a serious gambling
problem as their peers
- Professor Westphal stated two-thirds of the juvenile
problem gamblers in detention reported stealing to finance
their gambling
- Youth, whose parents gambled excessively, had twice the
number of problems with the law and twice the attempted
suicide rate than their classmates (Jacobs, 1989)
- Many
problem gamblers, that are also substance abusers, report
that gambling is more addictive, and more difficult to
recover from, than either alcohol or cocaine
- Juvenile involvement in gambling in the U.S. now exceeds
the expected onset for their use of cigarettes, hard liquor
and marijuana (Jacobs, 2000)
- Delaware and other states have found that adolescent
pathological gambling is associated with alcohol and drug
use, truancy, low grades, problematic gambling in parents,
and illegal activities to finance gambling. A survey of 8th
graders in 2002 in Delaware found the following troubling
connections:
- Those students that reported gambling were:
- Over 50% more likely to drink alcohol
- More than twice as likely to binge drink
- More than three times as likely to use marijuana
- Three times as likely to use other illegal drugs
- Almost three times as likely to get in trouble with the
police
- Three times as likely to be involved in a gang fight
- Almost three times as likely to steal or shoplift
- (Adapted from Delaware Council on Gambling Problems,
Inc. Newsletter, Vol XVI, No 5. Mar/Apr 2001)
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