Elsevier

Journal of Adolescent Health

Volume 47, Issue 3, September 2010, Pages 223-236
Journal of Adolescent Health

Review article
Adolescent Gambling: A Review of an Emerging Field of Research

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.05.003Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this review was to summarize the research on adolescent gambling with implications for research and prevention or intervention.

Method

The methodology involved a comprehensive and systematic search of “adolescent or youth gambling” in three diverse electronic databases (MedlineAdvanced, PsycINFO, and Sociological Abstracts) and three peer-reviewed journals (International Journal of Gambling Studies, International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, and Journal of Gambling Issues).

Results

The search resulted in 137 articles (1985–2010) focusing on gambling among youth aged between 9 and 21 years: 103 quantitative, 8 qualitative, and 26 non-empirical. The study of adolescent gambling can be summarized as follows: (a) it is conducted by a relatively small group of researchers in Britain, Canada, and the United States; (b) it is primarily prevalence-focused, quantitative, descriptive, school-based, and atheoretical; (c) it has most often been published in the Journal of Gambling Studies; (d) it is most often examined in relation to alcohol use; (e) it has relatively few valid and reliable screening instruments that are developmentally appropriate for adolescents, and (f) it lacks racially diverse samples.

Conclusion

Four recommendations are presented for both research and prevention or intervention which are as follows: (1) to provide greater attention to the development and validation of survey instruments or diagnostic criteria to assess adolescent problem gambling; (2) to begin to develop and test more gambling prevention or intervention strategies; (3) to not only examine the co-morbidity of gambling and alcohol abuse, but also include other behaviors such as sexual activity; and (4) to pay greater attention to racial and ethnic differences in the study of adolescent gambling.

Section snippets

Research Questions

This review is intended to be of service by addressing the following questions related to adolescent gambling, as revealed in three diverse online databases and three peer-reviewed journals: (a) what types of research are being conducted, (b) what measurement instruments or diagnostic criteria are being used, (c) what is the state of understanding about adolescent gambling, and (d) what recommendations can be made for future research and prevention or intervention?

Methodology

The present methodology involved a comprehensive and systematic search of “adolescent or youth gambling” in three diverse electronic databases (MedlineAdvanced, PsycINFO, and Sociological Abstracts) and three peer-reviewed journals (International Journal of Gambling Studies, International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, and Journal of Gambling Issues) through February 2010. Because of the fact that the focus was on adolescent gambling behavior, the following were purposefully excluded

Overview

A note is in order regarding the organization of this Results section. All the articles identified were reviewed, and are contained in the reference list and tables with corresponding reference numbers. However, because of space limitations, only the quantitative articles are discussed in detail in the following paragraphs. To avoid cumbersomeness, reference numbers are provided for results with 10 or fewer citations.

Of the 137 articles, 111 reported empirical research with original data (103

Discussion and Recommendations

Several limitations need to be discussed concerning this review. In an effort to be systematic and to adhere to space limitations, only the results from searching three diverse databases and three gambling-related journals are reported. It needs to be acknowledged that other research reports, book chapters, and publications (i.e., nonpeer reviewed reports from state gambling commissions) exist on adolescent gambling. For example, there is a need for a focused review of studies that address

Summary and Conclusion

The study of adolescent gambling, as represented in the articles reviewed for this report, can be summarized as follows: (a) it is a relatively new field of study and is conducted most often by a researchers in Britain, Canada, and the United States; (b) it is most often quantitative, prevalence-focused, descriptive, school-based, and atheoretical; (c) the results have most often been published in the Journal of Gambling Studies; (d) it is most often examined in relation to alcohol use; (e) it

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