Do predictors of gambling involvement differ across male and female adolescents?
We examined gender-specific factors, which might be related to adolescent gambling behavior, using a comprehensive set of predictors from neighborhood, school, family, peer, and intrapersonal domains. Discriminate function analyses revealed a unique pattern of results for each gender. The noteworthy predictors for males were similar to what is found to be predictors of other risk behaviors, suggesting that there may be a similar etiology to gambling participation as found with other risk behaviors. Compared to males, the model for females suggests that parents and peers may have a greater influence on engagement in gambling behavior. Participation in unstructured activities, and risk attitudes/perceptions were the only consistent noteworthy predictors across both males and females. Implications are discussed.
Chalmers
Heather
H
Department of Child and Youth Studies, Brock University, 500 Glenridge Ave. St, L2S 3A1, Catharines, ON, Canada. heather.chalmers@brocku.ca
Willoughby
Teena
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009864:Ontario / Q000453:epidemiology; D010379:Peer Group; D012649:Self Concept; D012647:Self-Assessment; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data