Date Approved

6-5-2004

Date Posted

10-1-2009

Degree Type

Open Access Thesis

Department or School

Leadership and Counseling

Committee Member

Dr. James E. Berry, EdD

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to identify problem, at-risk, and nonproblem gamblers among adolescent male and female populations. The study compared the two sexes to discover whether or not there were differences in terms of gambling frequency, types of gambling activities, and gambling-associated behaviors that could develop into pathological gambling, as defined by the American Psychiatric Association for those identified gambling groups. The multicultural sampled population consisted of 119 male and 100 female adolescents aged 13 to 19 from rural, suburban, and urban metropolitan areas of Southeastern Michigan. The study used the South Oaks Gambling Screen- Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA) instrument for data collection. Qualitative analysis showed that 12.78% were problem gamblers, 9.5 % were at-risk problem gamblers, and 5.47 % gambled, but without problems. Males were far more likely than females to gamble regularly. Nevertheless, females were more likely to be at-risk gamblers than males. Southeastern Michigan teens showed an onset of preteen gambling starting in grades 1st through 6th. Finally, the study revealed the need for additional longitudinal studies of adolescent gambling behaviors for treatment, prevention, and identification of problem and at-risk gamblers within adolescent populations.

Included in

Psychology Commons

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