Gambling Among Young People, 837 kB

however, tended to try to distract themselves in order to avoid feeling stress or the unpleasant feeling
that a problem or conflict in their lives gave rise to. Gambling for them filled a distracting function
(83). Finally, another study from the same research centre, found that boys and girls who were problem/
pathological gamblers differed in the way they handled stressful situations and unpleasant thoughts.
While boys tried to distract themselves from the perceived stress (for example by joking or activating
themselves), girls with gambling problems or who gambled a lot took drugs to dampen the unpleasant
feelings (85).
Other problems in young pathological gamblers
In the above-mentioned studies on pathological gambling, a number of questions were also put to the
young people as regards other health-related habits and possible problems, above all about mental
health, drug problems and criminal behaviour. Young people who gamble a lot, or who are
problem/pathological gamblers have one or several of these other problems compared to their peers.
Some of these associated problems have been examined in several studies and are clearly substantiated
while it is unclear whether others are associated with gambling. In the Rossow and Hansen study
on the gambling habits of young people for example, 75 per cent of the young problem or pathological
gamblers also had at least one other “additional problem” (12). In the study carried out at the Maria
Ungdom Clinic in Stockholm, boys with gambling problems were more prone to other psychosocial
problems compared to the other boys in the study. This difference was not found among the girls (65).
The results of the studies that have examined the problems that young problem/pathological gamblers
have are summarised below under the following headings:
• Mental ill health
– Depression, suicidal tendencies and feelings of anxiety
• Cognitive difficulties and behavioural problems
– Impulsivity, risk-taking behaviour, hyperactivity and attention disorders
– Learning difficulties
– Problems at school
• Crime
• Other addictions
• Differences between young pathological gamblers and young problem gamblers
mental ill health
Young people who have a gambling problem or who are pathological gamblers have reported poorer mental
health compared to other young people in studies. Many of these young people feel that they are alone
and have poor social support and few friends. They often seem to feel that they have a bad relationship
with their family, above all their parents. This is expressed as conflicts within the family, poor communication,
a poor family atmosphere or that they do not feel that their parents are supportive (12, 67, 84).
Depression, suicidal tendencies and feelings of anxiety
Young problem/pathological gamblers are more often depressed, think about taking their own lives or
have actually tried taking committing suicide more often than other young people, particularly girls.
Anxiety-related symptoms are also more common among these young people. The boys are more
worried about their lives than other boys and as regards girls they are more prone to anxiety disorders,
for example eating disorders (6, 12, 54, 84–86).
Boys who were problem/pathological gamblers in the study carried out at the Maria Ungdom
Clinic in Stockholm said that they had more social problems and feelings of anxiety compared to boys
with no gambling problems. This difference could not be found among the girls. It should be noted in
this context that nearly all the girls had more or less serious mental problems which might explain the
fact that the anticipated difference was not found (65).
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