Gambling Among Young People, 837 kB

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only a gambling problem. If you were a pathological gambler at one screening, you were usually a problem
gambler at “at least” one more screening if not at both. This study also found that the proportion of
participants who were problem or pathological gamblers remained constant throughout the period (74).
In the Swedish population study by Rönnberg et al from 1999 (17), a follow-up study was carried
out two years later where 93 adolescents were sought out and asked again about their gambling habits
and any possible problems. In the follow-up they found two clear trends as regards the gambling
problems of the adolescents during the two-year period. One trend indicated that the number of
pathological gamblers remained constant, while the group problem gamblers had decreased in numbers.
Two-thirds of the adolescents (aged between 15 and 17 in the initial study) who had had a gambling
problem, no longer had a problem at the follow-up. The fewer the points they had scored on the
SOGS-R in the initial study, the greater the probability that the problems were no longer an issue. Half
of those who were pathological gamblers in the initial study had also improved. Even if they still had
gambling problems they reported fewer negative effects of the gambling according to SOGS-R.
However, for a smaller group of young people their problems had deteriorated in the follow-up. In the
follow-up study the problems had deteriorated for 50 per cent of the adolescents who in the initial
study were pathological gamblers and who had in other words scored at least 5 points on SOGS-R.
Some of them who had had a gambling problem initially were classified as pathological gamblers at
the follow-up stage (75).
Ove Svensson claims in his thesis that the gambling habits and problems of young people are
much more changeable than has previously been assumed in research – namely that the problems are
fairly constant in young people over time. This assumption originates from the idea that the gambling
problems of young people develop in the same way as adults, in other words that they remain for many
years. This assumption has remained because there has been a lack of data from longitudinal studies
that can give more definitive answers to how the gambling habits and problems of young people develop
and abate. According to Svensson the gambling problems of young people are more changeable
than those of adults because young people are more prone to risk-taking and are not used to limiting
their gambling (76).
Summary
It is fairly common for young people in the West to be problem or pathological gamblers despite the
fact that few of them gamble regularly. A meta-analysis of nine North American studies estimates the
prevalence of some form of gambling problem at between 10–14 per cent. These figures correspond
fully with studies from Australia and Europe. Only a population study has been carried out in Sweden,
this was at the end of the 1990s and there the proportion of young people who were problem or pathological
gamblers was estimated at 5 per cent, 2.5 times higher than for the adult population. Obviously
the consequences of gambling and/or the effects of these consequences differ between young people
and adults, since gambling problems are more prevalent among young people despite the fact that
they gamble less. Problem and pathological gambling are more prevalent among boys than girls, 2–5
per cent more boys compared to girls have gambling problems.
Young pathological or problem gamblers often have one or two other problems at the same time.
Some of these associated problems have been examined in many studies and have been clearly substantiated
while for others it is still rather unclear whether they are associated to gambling or not. The
problems that are associated to gambling in young people and have been studied most are mental ill
health, cognitive difficulties and behavioural problems, crime and alcohol and/or drug addiction.
Many of the studies have also found that young people with gambling problems differ from pathological
gamblers. It would appear that young pathological gamblers have more problems with their
mental health than those with a gambling problem. On the other hand, those with a gambling problem
seem more prone to criminal activity than those who are pathological gamblers. Gambling problems
in young people appears to be a relatively changeable problem, and for many the problem abates in
adulthood. For some, above all those with more serious problems or who are pathological gamblers,
the problems remain for many years, and in some cases they even deteriorate.