Mom, Dad It’s Only a Game! Perceived Gambling and Gaming Behaviors among Adolescents and Young Adults: an Exploratory Study

Calado, F ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2906-7279, Alexandre, J and Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524, 2014. Mom, Dad It’s Only a Game! Perceived Gambling and Gaming Behaviors among Adolescents and Young Adults: an Exploratory Study. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 12 (6), pp. 772-794. ISSN 1557-1874

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Abstract

Gambling and gaming are increasingly popular activities among adolescents. Although gambling is illegal in Portugal for youth under the age of 18 years, gambling opportunities are growing, mainly due to similarity between gambling and other technology-based games. Given the relationship between gambling and gaming activities, the paucity of research on gambling and gaming behaviors in Portugal, and the potential negative consequences in the lives of young people, the goal of this study was to explore and compare the perceptions of these two behaviors between Portuguese adolescents and young adults. Results from six focus groups (three with adolescents and three with young adults, comprising 37 participants aged between 13 and 26 years) indicated different perceptions for the two age groups. For adolescents, gaming was associated with addiction whereas for young adults it was perceived a tool for increasing personal and social skills. With regard to gambling, adolescents associated it with luck and financial rewards, whereas young adults perceived it as an activity with more risks than benefits. These results suggest developmental differences that have implications for intervention programs and future research.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
Creators:	Calado, F., Alexandre, J. and Griffiths, M.D.
Publisher:	Springer
Date:	2014
Volume:	12
Number:	6
ISSN:	1557-1874
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1007/s11469-014-9509-y DOI
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	01 Dec 2015 14:17
Last Modified:	21 Aug 2020 14:55
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/26562

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