Do youths gamble? You bet! A Swiss population-based study.
OBJECTIVE
To establish the gambling prevalence among Swiss resident youths, to estimate the associations between gambling frequency and substance use, poor mental health and social support and to determine the correlation between gambling pattern and gambling frequency.


METHODS
Cross-sectional population-based survey conducted in 2007. From 1233 eligible participants aged 15-24 years, adequate information was available for 1116 (582 males), distributed into: non- (n=577), occasional (n=388) and frequent gamblers (n=151).


METHODS
Substance use, social activities, presence of a reliable person among friends or family, psychological distress, major depression and gambling pattern.


RESULTS
Overall, the 48.3% (n=539) of youths who had gambled during the previous year; were older and more likely to be male than non-gamblers. 13.5% (n=151) gambled at least weekly and could be differentiated from occasional gamblers on the basis of their gambling pattern. After controlling for gender, age and language area, occasional gamblers were significantly more likely to be occasional binge drinkers, whereas frequent gamblers were more likely to be daily smokers.


CONCLUSIONS
Almost half of Swiss resident youths are involved in gambling. Both occasional and frequent gambling are associated with further health compromising behaviour. Practitioners dealing with young people should be aware that gambling is a behaviour that might be part of a more global risky behaviour framework.
Luder
Marie-Thérèse
MT
Research Group on Adolescent Health (GRSA), Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (IUMSP), Centre Hospitailer Universitaire Vaudois and University of Lausanne, Bugnon, 17, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland. marietherese.luder@gmail.com
Berchtold
André
A
Akré
Christina
C
Michaud
Pierre-André
PA
Suris
Joan-Carles
JC
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology; D005715:Gambling / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D012919:Social Behavior; D012944:Social Support; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D013557:Switzerland; D055815:Young Adult