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Adolescent gambling in Adolescent gambling in AustraliaAustralia

Dr. Paul DelfabbroUniversity of AdelaideDr. Julie Lahn Australian National University

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AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements

Professor Peter Grabosky ACT Gambling and Racing CommissionChannel 7 Research FoundationAustralian Research CouncilSA and ACT schools

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Outline of PresentationOutline of Presentation

Overview of previous International and National researchRegulatory implicationsNature of adolescent involvementAccessibilityProblem gambling and harmRole of knowledge and education

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International FindingsInternational FindingsHigh prevalence rates in overseas studies

Adult problem gamblers commonly report that their interest in gambling commenced at an early age

Adult survey data indicates that the 18-24 age group has the highest prevalence of problem gambling

Often coincides with broader psychological /socialproblems

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Prevalence of adolescent Prevalence of adolescent problem gamblingproblem gambling

Consistently 2 – 3+ times higher than adults

United States and Canada: 3.2% - 6.4% (Shaffer & Hall 2001).

United Kingdom: 5.0% (Fisher, 1992), 6.0% (Wood and Griffiths, 1998).

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CorrelatesCorrelates of gambling in of gambling in adolescenceadolescence

Drug-use, alcohol abuse, truancy, and petty criminal behaviour (stealing).

Poorer educational outcomes.

Poorer self-esteem, higher levels of depression and anxiety.

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Pathways Model of Problem Pathways Model of Problem GamblingGambling

Subcultural/ Experiential model

Vulnerability Model (gambling as a coping strategy/ Jacobs’ general theory of addictions)

Pathology Model

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Previous AustralianPrevious AustralianResearch (Research (VictoriaVictoria))

Moore and Ohtsuka (1997) surveyed 1000+ years 10-12 students and University students.

3.8% reported having a gambling problem.

Predictors of involvement and problem gambling: intention and pro-gambling attitudes, including amongst friends and peers.

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Previous AustralianPrevious Australian ResearchResearch(Victoria)(Victoria)Burnett, Ong and Fuller (1997)

778 year 12s

Predictors of weekly gambling: sensation-seeking, dissatisfaction with school (males), social maladjustment, friends who gamble, alcohol use and other risky behaviours.

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Previous AustralianPrevious Australian ResearchResearch(Victoria)(Victoria)

Jackson et al. (1999): Gatehouse project

2700 Year 8 students. Obtained gambling frequency and attitudinal data

Gambling participation related to: risky behaviours (e.g., substance use), disengagement with school, social maladjustment, self-harm.

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Previous AustralianPrevious Australian ResearchResearch(Victoria)(Victoria)

Moore and Ohtsuka (1999, published in 2001) 769 adolescents (genuine adolescent sample)

Only 2.0% of the sample were probable problem gamblers.

Leisure time usage not related to gambling frequency and problem gambling.

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Participation ratesParticipation rates

3 sources of data

Moore & Ohtsuka (2001): VICDelfabbro & Thrupp (2003): SADelfabbro, Lahn, & Grabosky (2004): ACT

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Victorian SampleVictorian Sample

710 students (314 boys, 356 girls)Years 10, 11 and 12Mean age 16.3 yearsSampled from a lower SES area of Melbourne

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Moore and Ohtsuka (2001): VicMoore and Ohtsuka (2001): Vic

Activity % (Ever gambled)Cards for money 55Horses/ dogs 50Sports betting 30Lottery tickets 63Poker machines at a hotel 25Bingo 25

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Overall gambling Overall gambling frequency (previous 12 frequency (previous 12

months) in SAmonths) in SA

37.5% never gambled in this period47.8% gambled at least once but less often than once per week14.7% gambled on a weekly basis

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Delfabbro & Thrupp (2003): SA Delfabbro & Thrupp (2003): SA (previous 12 months)(previous 12 months)

Never Infrequent Weekly or more often

Private cards ($) 397 (79.9) 93 (18.7) 7 (1.4)

Poker machines 431 (86.9) 61 (12.3) 4 (0.8)

Racing 424 (85.5) 66 (13.3) 6 (1.2)

Sports 392 (79.4) 69 (14.0) 33 (6.7)

Lotteries/ Keno 317 (63.5) 158 (31.7) 24 (4.8)

Scratch cards 284 (57.7) 183 (37.2) 25 (5.1)

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ACT SampleACT Sample

Years 7 to 12926 participants (M=473, F=448)60% government, 40% Catholic or IndependentIndigenous 3.5%NESB: 24.3%Living arrangementsParents employed/unemployed

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Overall Gambling Frequency Overall Gambling Frequency (previous 12 months(previous 12 months) in ACT) in ACT

Infrequent gambling: 60.4%

Frequent gambling 10%

Never gambled 29.6%

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Delfabbro, Lahn, Grabosky Delfabbro, Lahn, Grabosky (2004):ACT (previous 12 months)(2004):ACT (previous 12 months)

% Never % Infrequent % Frequent

Private Cards (for $) 60.1 36.6 3.2

Casino cards 95.5 3.8 0.7

Poker machines 87.3 11.3 1.4

Racing 68.1 30.5 1.5

Sports Betting 73.9 21.5 4.5

Lotteries and Keno 76.7 22.2 1.4

Scratch cards 59.5 38.8 1.7

Internet 93.9 4.6 1.5

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Participation rates: Key pointsParticipation rates: Key points

Overall rate around 60-70%, weekly 10-15% (ACT > SA)Very low involvement in adult forms of gambling (e.g., EGMs, Casino games)A lot of gambling is private (particularly in the ACT)ACT has more racing gambling than SASA has higher lottery participation (different age-laws)Internet gambling: not a major problem

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Age Differences Age Differences in ACTin ACT

Prevalence of gambling increased with age:

Total gambling increased year 7-12 (64.1%-80.5%)Never and Infrequent gambling changes after year 10But frequent gambling constant across age

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Age Differences Age Differences in ACTin ACT% Never % Infrequent % Frequent

Year 7 35.9 58.0 6.1

Year 8 29.0 59.0 11.9

Year 9 30.4 57.4 12.2

Year 10 31.4 59.6 9.0

Year 11 25.8 64.9 9.3

Year 12 19.4 72.2 9.3

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Social ContextSocial Contextof Gambling in the ACTof Gambling in the ACT

WHO DO THEY GAMBLE WITH?

Friends: card gamesAlone: pokies, internetParents: racing, lotteries, scratchies

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Link with ParentalLink with Parental GamblingGambling(ACT)(ACT)

ASSOCIATION between ADOLESCENT and PARENTAL gambling

85.7% of adolescent frequent gamblers had parents who gambled47.8% of adolescent non-gamblers had parents who gambled

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Social Impacts: Problem Social Impacts: Problem GamblingGambling

Overall prevalenceSocial and attitudinal correlates of problem gamblingPsychological correlates

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Problem Problem Gambling in the ACTGambling in the ACT

Two measures of problem gambling were administered4.4% were classified “problem gamblers” on the DSM-IV-J3.3% were classified using the VGS.

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Comparative FiguresComparative Figures

Author n Age Location Measure Prevalence

Moore & Ohtsuka

1997

1017 14-25 Vic Modified SOGS

3.8

Moore & Ohtsuka

2001

769 13-19 Vic Modified SOGS

2.0

Delfabbro & Thrupp

2003

505 15-17 SA DSM-IV-J 3.5

Grabosky et al 2004

926 12-19 ACT DSM-IV-JVGS

4.43.3

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Problem Gambling:Problem Gambling:individual individual differences (ACT)differences (ACT)

Gender: 7.8% of boys, 2.7% of girlsIndigenous: 28% vs 4.1% non-indigenousAge: year 7-12 upward trend 4% - 6.3%

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Problem Gamblers: Problem Gamblers: Participation Participation rates (ACT)rates (ACT)

Cards: 80%Pokies: 54%Racing: 68%Sports betting: 68%Internet: 20%

PG: wider range of gambling activities

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Problem Problem Gamblers: gamblingGamblers: gamblinghistoryhistory

Started younger (9.62 yrs. vs 11.77 yrs.)Early big win (54% vs. 21%)Someone close with a gambling problem (50% vs. 14%)Parents gambled (90% vs. 71%)

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ProblemProblem Gambling: Gambling: social influences and normssocial influences and norms

44-56% PG vs. 7-17% non-PG agreed or strongly agreed with:

“Most of my friends gamble”“Most of my friends approve of gambling”“Most people in my family gamble”“My family approves of gambling”

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Key points: Problem GamblingKey points: Problem Gambling

Prevalence is around 2 x adult levels (but these rates should not be interpreted the same way)High rates in indigenous young peopleStrongly influenced by parental and peer influences + attitudesEvidence of intergenerational problemsBoys much more at risk than girls

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Will education be useful?Will education be useful?

How well do young people understand the odds?Will it make a difference to problem gambling?Questions included in the ACT study and in the Dicey Dealings Evaluation in South Australia (n = 1500)

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Perceptions of Perceptions of Skill (ACT)Skill (ACT)

All participants rated card games, racing and sports betting as more skilful than other forms of gambling

PGs rated all forms of gambling as involving more skill than non-PGs, especially games of pure chance (pokies, bingo, lotteries and roulette).

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Understanding Understanding Odds (ACT)Odds (ACT)

“In Lotto on TV, there are 45 numbers and you must choose 6. Which of the following gives the closest odds of all 6 of your numbers being drawn so that you win the jackpot?”

1 in 900; 1 in 9000; 1 in 90,000; 1 in a million; 1 in 5 million; 1 in 8 million; 1 in 20 million.

•PG and non-PG: no differences in responses•But the majority got it wrong

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Perception of RandomnessPerception of Randomness(ACT)(ACT)

Rolling a Die:

“Are there numbers that are harder or easier to get than others?”

•26% said “yes, some are harder” (55% said 6’s)•27% said “yes, some are easier” (49% said 1’s & 2’s)

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PGs. VsPGs. Vs NPGsNPGs

More PGs (than non-PGs) believe that some numbers are ‘harder’ to get (43%vs. 25%). Same for ‘easier’ numbers

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Probability KnowledgeProbability Knowledge

“If 2 coins are tossed, what is the chance of getting two tails?”

1 in 3 (33%); 1 in 4 (25%); 1 in 2 (50%), 1 in 5 (20%).

Correctly answered by 38% PG & 41% non-PG

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CoinCoin Sequences (ACT)Sequences (ACT)

“A person tosses a coin 12 times in a row. Which outcome is most likely?”1.HTHTTHTHTHTH2.HHHTTTTTTHHH3.THTTHHTTTHHH4.None of them are likely5.All of them are equally likely

Correctly answered by 25% problem gamblers and 57% of non-problem gamblers. This result is not related to age (knowledge of probability).

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Recency Recency Effects (ACT)Effects (ACT)

“The chance of having a boy or girl in a family is 1 in 2 (or 50%). This means that the chance of getting 3 girls in a row is:1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2 = 1/8 = 12.5%

A family has 3 girls. What is the probability of the next child being a girl? ……..%”

PGs more accurate then NPGs

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Gambling Gambling Optimism (ACT and Optimism (ACT and SA)SA)

9-item scalePGs scored higher on the scale than non-PGs.Lower risk aversiveness“Gambling is a good way to make money”

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Other correlatesOther correlates

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SubstanceSubstance Use (ACT)Use (ACT)

PG compared with non-PG:Alcohol (weekly): 3/4 of PG vs. 1/2 non-PGsPGs: Smoking prevalence 4 times higherPGs: Marijuana prevalence 6 times higherPGs: ‘harder drugs’ 10-20 times higher

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Psychological Psychological Wellbeing (ACT)Wellbeing (ACT)

PGs poorer in measures of:Negative MoodSelf-esteemFamily AdjustmentGeneral HealthAnomieRelative Deprivation

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Relationships with Relationships with Peers (ACT)Peers (ACT)

How many peers they disliked, liked, and how many they thought disliked them.

PG same amount of friendsPG disliked twice as many peersPG thought more peers disliked them

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Any questions?Any questions?