Adolescent problem gamblers

A study of 2,179 adolescents in the Canadian province of Ontario looked into the prevalence of, and risk factors for, gambling problems. The researchers classified 37.9% of the sample as non-gamblers, 49.3% as social gamblers, 7.8% as at-risk gamblers and 5% as pathological problem gamblers. Boys were six times more likely to be pathological problem gamblers than girls. Lower family and school connectedness and lack of family cohesion were all found to increase the risk for problem gambling.

Dickson, Laurie, Derevensky, Jeffrey L. and Gupta, Rina - Youth gambling problems: examining risk and protective factors International Gambling Studies April 2008, 8(1), 25-47