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After reading information like
this, I began to realize how dangerous problem gambling can be and, I
began to worry about the gambling practices of children and teenagers
(the people who society needs to be most responsible for). In my library
visits, I found a multitude of books on teen gambling and statistics that
explained why there were so many teens with gambling problems. I found
out some startling pieces of information. For example, teens who are involved
in gambling are four times more likely to develop addictions than their
adult counterparts. As with alcohol or substance addictions, the children
of compulsive gamblers are more likely to develop problems with gambling
in later years. I realized that via such means as the Internet, children
and teens have access to gambling pretty much whenever they want it.
Here's where the problem lies.
There are plenty of statistics and studies out there proving over and
over how vulnerable teens are to gambling, yet the authorities who are
responsible for informing them of this weakness, fail to do so. Furthermore,
these authorities promote gambling by advertisements and positive slogans
that lead teens to believe that there can't be a negative side to gambling.
Teens know that if they drink alcohol or do drugs they do so at their
own risk. Because of advertisements and programs at school, many are aware
that they may develop addictions due to such behaviours. Are they also
aware that the very same adverse effects can come from gambling? Or are
they too naive, like I was, thinking that gambling is just a game, for
fun, or just something to do?
In my sociology class, I had
an opportunity to ask these questions myself. Our assignment was to experience
the process of primary research by polling the students in our school
with a questionnaire. The goal of the assignment was to learn to appreciate
the time and hard work put into the studies we were using everyday as
secondary research. I aimed to discover my peers' views about gambling
and what their gambling practices were.
For a number of reasons, I
went into the assignment with my own opinions and assumptions about my
peers' attitudes towards gambling. The secondary school I attended at
that time was in a predominantly white, middle-class location, a fair
distance away (about an hour) from a large-scale gaming institution. I
believed that because of their age most of the students would be unaware
of the negative effects of gambling. Most cannot legally gamble.
Age was actually a large factor
in my questionnaire. I decided that from the range of students I could
access, I would interview OAC (Grade 13) students (N = 37) who were at
least 18 and could legally gamble, and Grade 9 students (N = 42) who were
14 or 15 and were the youngest students in our school and too young to
legally gamble. I naturally hypothesized that the OAC students, due to
their age, would gamble more often and would be more aware of the negative
aspects of gambling.
I administered most of the
questionnaires in classrooms and with their teachers' written permission.
Others were given randomly to students in the halls or cafeteria. I was
always present to explain that all information was strictly confidential
and to answer any questions or address any concerns.
My first question was basic.
I asked whether gambling is best defined as a good source of entertainment,
a good way to get rich quick or a possibly harmful addiction. Surprisingly,
over half of the students surveyed (55% of Grade 9 students and 51% of
OAC students) believe gambling is best described as "a possibly harmful
addiction." I was impressed that students think of gambling in this way.
Due to advertisements and our social acceptance of gambling, I believed
the majority of students would perceive gambling as "a good source of
entertainment"; 38% of the Grade 9 students and 41% of the OAC students
did, in fact, choose that answer.
My second question worked with
the first in addressing the effect gambling has on our society. Although
about half of the students believe gambling is best described as a harmful
addiction, 64% of the Grade 9 students and 46% of the OAC students say
that gambling has a neutral effect on our society, while 31% of the Grade
9 students and 30% of the OAC students believe gambling has a negative
effect on our society. If gambling is best described as an addiction,
isn't it natural that it would have a negative effect on us? Perhaps,
the students don't see gambling addictions as serious, or perhaps the
entertainment value of gambling is too strong to ignore. Only 5% of the
Grade 9 students and 22% of the OAC students believe gambling has a positive
effect on our society. I expected the answers of the Grade 9 students
compared to the OAC students to be drastically different because of the
age difference. Yet, looking at the statistics, they are similar, showing
an impressive level of awareness by the younger students.
Another question brought similar
responses from the two age groups. However, this time the results weren't
as positive. First, I gave them a commonly used definition of gambling:
"Gambling means placing
a bet, whether for money or not, where the outcome of an event is
uncertain or depends on chance, and in which the player may or may
not be able to improve the chances of winning because of his or her
skill."
Then I asked them to keep this
definition in mind while answering if they gamble or have ever gambled.
Eighty-three per cent of the Grade 9 students and 92% of the OAC students
(only 9% more) answered this question in the affirmative.
About 40% of the Grade 9 students
who gamble report that they do so approximately once a year; half of these
14 to15 year old teenagers gamble at least once a month; 6% gamble at
least once a week and 6% gamble more than once a week. Should we worry
about the 12% who are gambling on such a regular basis?
Yet again, their responses
show little difference between the two age groups. Of the OAC students
who gamble, 56% report themselves as yearly gamblers; only 35% are monthly
gamblers; 6% gamble once a week and 3% gamble more than once a week. These
older students can gamble legally and only 9% do so on a regular basis.
Comparing the statistics, Grade 9 students, who are illegal gamblers,
are more regular gamblers than the OAC students, who are legal gamblers.
Since the Grade 9 students
are not permitted to enter casinos or any other large-scale gaming institution,
or to purchase lottery tickets, the statistics show that their gambling
tends not to be institutionalized. When asked what forms of gambling they
participate in, over half (57%) report they play cards for money and 51%
contribute to sports pools or other types of pools. Forty per cent of
these students report having played lottery tickets and 40% played bingo.
Do their parents buy them lottery tickets? Do they go to family bingo?
Are the people they trust the most treating these actions as harmless?
The students were also asked
what they win when they gamble. The results were age-appropriate: the
Grade 9 students report winning such things as tickets to movies, candy,
bicycles; whereas the OAC students only report winning money. This reinforces
the fact that the younger students are participating in small-scale, non-institutionalized
gambling. But does this necessarily mean that they are participating in
harmless gambling? Are these innocent gambling practices of their youth
creating potentially dangerous attitudes for adult behaviour?
Over all, from both age groups,
the students reported that 71% of their parents gamble, and that 23% gamble
yearly, 34% monthly, 34%gamble weekly and 9% gamble more than once a week.
These numbers suggest most parents are social or casual gamblers as opposed
to problem gamblers. However, in this day and age, are casual gamblers
giving children and teenagers the impression that gambling is acceptable
to the point where teens see no wrong in gambling more than once or twice
a week? Is this setting the teens up for future problems? How will they
differentiate between safe and problem gambling practices?
Thirty eight per cent of all
students surveyed know or have known somebody with a gambling problem.
Twenty-seven per cent of the students report the gambler to be under 20
years of age. This suggests to me that they are friends of the students;
7% of the students report the gambler to be between 21 and 30; 13% between
31 and 40; while 43% report the problem gambler to be between 41 and 50
(the probable ages of their parents); and 10% report the gambler to be
over 51. Seventy per cent of the students report that the people they
know or have known who have gambling problems have not yet recovered and
still struggle with the illness. This suggests that some students are
regularly exposed to gambling problems through their friends, parents,
and relatives. Isn't it time they learned how to help their loved ones?
After doing my own research
and analyzing all of this for myself, I am still left with many questions.
However, I have started to answer many of them, and hopefully have made
others start thinking as well. It is important to understand that what
we do as children, more often than not, influences our actions as adults.
Things that may seem innocent and harmless, like playing cards for money,
may do more long-term damage than we even care to imagine. Ten per cent
of us currently have problems with gambling. I would be willing to bet
money that 10% of us believe scratching lottery tickets as young children
cannot possibly have adverse effects later in life. I'm not a social scientist
with multiple degrees attached to my name, so take my opinions and statistics
for what they are worth to you. Do your own research, question what the
advertisements say and join the battle of awareness and discovery. It's
time to expose the hidden addiction. Thank you.
*The statistic of "10% of
[adult] Ontarians" with gambling problems can be seen as an inflated
figure. The source for this figure (Van Rijn, 1995) chose to include those
who endorsed having even one gambling problem on the South Oaks Gambling
Screen (SOGS). However, to be identified as having a clinically significant
gambling problem, a person would have to endorse at least five items on
the SOGS. Recent research on the prevalence of gambling problems offers
a different view. A widely accepted meta-analysis by Shaffer, Hall and
Vander Bilt (1999) describes lifetime prevalence rates of probable pathological
gambling of 1.7% for adults and 4.3% for adolescents in the United States
and Canada.
— The editor
References
- Shaffer, H.J., Hall,
M.N. & Vander Bilt, J. (1999).
- Estimating the prevalence
of disordered gambling behavior in the United States and Canada: A research
synthesis. American Journal of Public Health 89(9), 1369-1376.
- Van Rijn, N. (1995, August
11).
- One million in Ontario said
hooked on gambling. The Toronto Star, p. A2.
Submitted: September
17, 2000
This account was not
peer-reviewed.
Jennifer Zechmeister is
a first-year student at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.
Currently in the Faculty of Social Science, Jennifer hopes to attain a
post-graduate degree in journalism. Jennifer was born and raised in Hamilton,
Ontario and graduated from her local high school with an award as an Ontario
Scholar.
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