title: A cross-sectional study of problem gambling and its correlates among college students in South India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In the Western world, a significant portion of college students have gambled. College gamblers have one of the highest rates of problem gambling. To date, there have been no studies on gambling participation or the rates of problem gambling in India.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study evaluated the prevalence of gambling participation and problem gambling in college students in India. It also evaluated demographic and psychosocial correlates of gambling in that population.
  
  
  METHODS
  We surveyed 5784 college students from 58 colleges in the district of Ernakulam, Kerala, India, using cluster random sampling. Students completed questionnaires that addressed gambling, substance use, psychological distress, suicidality and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 5580 completed questionnaires were returned, and while only 1090 (19.5%) college students reported having ever gambled, 415 (7.4%) reported problem gambling. Lotteries were the most popular form of gambling. Problem gamblers in comparison with non-gamblers were significantly more likely to be male, have a part-time job, greater academic failures, higher substance use, higher psychological distress scores, higher suicidality and higher ADHD symptom scores. In comparison with non-problem gamblers, problem gamblers were significantly more likely to have greater academic failures, higher psychological distress scores, higher suicidality and higher ADHD symptom scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study, the first to look at the prevalence of gambling in India, found relatively low rates of gambling participation in college students but high rates of problem gambling among those who did gamble. Correlates of gambling were generally similar to those noted in other countries. Since 38% of college students who had gambled had a gambling problem, there is a need for immediate public health measures to raise awareness about gambling, and to prevent and treat problem gambling in this population.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  S.G. was (until October 2014) a member of the UK Responsible Gambling Strategy Board, and authored the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Faculty report FR/AP/01Gambling: The Hidden Addiction - Future Trends in Addictions(2014).
  © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) licence.
authors.affiliation: , FRCPsych, Rajagiri Hospital, Chunagamvely, Aluva, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: Sanju
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: George
authors.affiliation: , MD, MRCPsych, Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Jaisoorya
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ts
authors.affiliation: , DPM, Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College, Ernakulam, India.
authors.forename: Sivasankaran
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.affiliation: , MD, Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College, Ernakulam, India.
authors.forename: Anjana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rani
authors.affiliation: , DPM, Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College, Ernakulam, India.
authors.forename: Priya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Menon
authors.affiliation: , MSW, Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College, Ernakulam, India.
authors.forename: Revamma
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Madhavan
authors.affiliation: , MSc, MPhil, Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College, Ernakulam, India.
authors.forename: Jeevan Chakkandan
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Rajan
authors.affiliation: , DPM, Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College, Ernakulam, India.
authors.forename: Komath Sankaran
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Radhakrishnan
authors.affiliation: , MBBS, Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College, Ernakulam, India.
authors.forename: Vineeta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Jose
authors.affiliation: , MD, Unit of Addiction Medicine, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Vivek
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Benegal
authors.affiliation: , PhD, Biostatistics, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thennarasu
authors.affiliation: , PhD, Medicine, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut, USA.
authors.forename: Nancy M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Petry