Original scientific paper
Adolescent Gambling: the Role of Sex, Some Family and School Factors
Vesna Bilić
orcid.org/0000-0003-2306-5803
; Faculty of Primary Education, University of Zagreb
Siniša Opić
orcid.org/0000-0001-9800-0145
; Faculty of Primary Education, University of Zagreb
Abstract
The aim of this article is to examine whether there are diffreneces between students prone to social or recreational gambling, i.e. prone to excessive or problematic gambling, and their colleagues who do not gamble, in terms of gender, socio-demographic characteristics of families and type of school, success and their absence from school. The study includes 403 (49.6% F and 50.4% M) third-grade students of secondary schools in Croatia. The results obtained, according to which 45.7% of students are prone to social and 21.6% to problematic gambling, justify the concerns of parents and teachers due to increased gambling activity in adolescents. Age differences were not found signifi cant, but confirmed that male students are signifi cantly more likely to gamble than female students. There were no statistically significant differences in terms of SES, but there is a trend according to which proportion of frequent gamblers’ mothers with higher and university education is higher than in the other two groups. The results show that among participants who are prone to gambling there is a signifi cantly higher proportion of those whose parents are also prone to gambling, which is explained by: a) direct parental modeling and empowerment of adolescents gambling activities, but also by b) indirect influence of family atmosphere. Students who gamble more frequently usually come from vocational schools, have worse school performance, and are often absent from school. The conclusion emphasizes the need to take preventive action with the purpose of combating this more and more rampant risky behavior among young people.
Keywords
adolescents; gambling; sex; age; family and school factors
Hrčak ID:
112412
URI
Publication date:
2.12.2013.
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