Original scientific paper
GAMBLING OF ADOLESCENTS IN ZAGREB – ROLE OF PSYCHOPATHIC TRAITS, RISK AND DELINQUENT BEHAVIOUR
Dora Dodig
orcid.org/0000-0002-4767-637X
; Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Neven Ricijaš
orcid.org/0000-0001-8107-8448
; Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
This paper presents results of a pilot-study about adolescent gambling in the City of Zagreb. The survey was conducted during March
2010 in three Zagreb secondary schools: a grammar school, a four-year vocational school and a three-year vocational school. A total
of 261 students from the first to the final year of their secondary education participated in the study (M=58.2%; F=41.8%). Age range
of participants was from 13 to 19 years (Mage=16.51; SDage=1.15). The aim of this paper is to explore the contribution of psychopathic
personality traits as well as risk and delinquent behaviour in explaining severity of gambling problems. Several instruments
were used in the research: (1) Basic Demographic Characteristics Questionnaire, (2) South Oaks Gambling Screen - version revised
for adolescents, SOGS-RA (Winters, Stinchfield i Fulkerson, 1993), (3) Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory – YPI (Andershed,
Kerr, Stattin i Levander, 2002) and (4) Youth Self-Reported Delinquency and Risk Behaviour Questionnaire - SRDP-2007 (Ručević,
Ajduković i Šincek, 2009). Hierarchical regression analysis was performed only on a sample of boys (N = 150) since girls were not
significantly represented in the group of risk / problem gamblers. The results of hierarchical regression analysis show that the best
predictors of gambling severity among boys are the propensity to committing the crimes of theft and robbery, as well as the tendency
to risky sexual behaviour. In other words, other risk and delinquent behaviour can greatly contribute to explaining gambling severity.
Interestingly, the factor Impulsivity-Irresponsibility ceases to be a significant predictor when the behavioural aspect (risk and
delinquent behaviour) is incorporated in the model. Findings in this paper are in accordance with foreign researches which support
the thesis that gambling, although a specific behaviour in terms of its characteristics shouldn’t be viewed separately, but rather as a
part of a “problem behaviour syndrome”.
Keywords
gambling; adolescents; psychopathic traits; risk and delinquent behaviour
Hrčak ID:
77210
URI
Publication date:
10.2.2012.
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