Gambling Among Primary School Students Robert Ladouceur, P h . D . Dominique DubS, M.Ps. Annie Bujold, M.Ps. Universitd Laval, Qudbec
This study identifies the gambling behavior of 1,320 p r i m a r y school students aged 8 to 12 of the 4th, 5th and 6th grades. Eighty-six percent admitted to having, at some time or another, bet money. Lotteries are the most popular form of gambling for this age group. Sixty-one percent of these students gamble with lotteries. In descending order of popularity, other games played by students were: bingo, card-playing for money, bets on sports, wagering on specific events, video gambling (video poker and slot machines), and finally betting on games of skill. G a m b l i n g behaviors differed according to gender. M o r e than 40% of respondents reported g a m b l i n g once a week or more for at least one game. Because of the early development of gambling behavior in children, prevention programs for pathological gambling should be implemented as early as the fourth grade.
Gambling is currently widespread and growing. American, Canadian and British studies show that over 80% of adults approve of gambling practices and two out of three adults participate regularly in this form of recreation. Certain people will develop a progressive and chronic incapacity to resist gambling which will reduce their quality of life and that of their close family and friends. In the US, Volberg and
This research was supported by a grant from the Fonds Richelieu. All correspondence should be addressed to Robert Ladouceur, Ph.D., Ecole de Psychologie, Universit6 Laval, Qu6bec, Qu6bec, Canada, G1K 7P4.
Journal of Gambling Studies Vol. 10(4), Winter 1994 9 1994 Human Sciences Press, Inc.
363
364
JOURNAL OF GAMBLING STUDIES
Steadman (1988) estimate that between 1.7% to 2.8% of the adult population suffer from pathological gambling. In the province of Quebec, a recent survey indicated that 1.2 % of the adult population were pathological gamblers (Ladouceur, 1991). Many studies show that a large proportion of adolescents gamble regularly (Lesieur & Klein, 1987; Ide-Smith & Lea, 1988; Ladouceur & Mireault, 1988; Jacob, 1989; Lesieur et al., 1991; Ladouceur, Dub~ & Bujold, 1994). According to a study by Lesieur and Klein (1987), 49 % of teenagers play cards, 46 % go to casinos and 45 % bet on sports or the lottery. In the province of Quebec, the majority of adolescents play lotteries (60%), bet on sports (45%) or on cards (36%) (Ladouceur & Mireault, 1988). In England, teenage youths prefer slot machines (81%) and cards (36%) (Ide-Smith & Lea, 1988). These numbers highlight the fact that the games that are most popular are also the most available. A comparison of these different studies demonstrates that the prevalence of pathological gambling is higher in teenagers than in adults. Gambling behaviors develop very early in an individual's life. Dell, Ruzicka and Palisi (1981) reported that 37% of 35 pathological gamblers interviewed said they began to gamble before age ten, 47 % between 11 and 18 years of age and only 14% at 19 years old or later. In this study, the average age for a first contact with gambling was 13 years of age. Griffiths (1990) indicated that adolescents addicted to slot-machines began gambling significantly earlier (9.22 years of age) than non addicted individuals (11.34 years of age). In the study by IdeSmith and Lea (1988), adolescents report starting gambling at an average age of 8 years, 3 months for boys and 8 years, 9 months for girls. This confirms observations already made by Livingston (1974) who stated that most gamblers in Gamblers Anonymous were introduced to this practice by their parents or neighbors at a very early age. Gambling behaviors in adults and teenagers are relatively well known. However, there is an urgent need to investigate the behavior of grade school children. The only studies that discuss gambling behaviors of children used a retrospective design in which adolescents and adults were questioned on their childhood behaviors concerning gambling to determine at which age their gambling first started (Griffith, 1990; IdeSmith & Lea, 1988). First hand knowledge of gambling in children will yield valuable information which will enable the development of more adequate prevention programs for pathological gambling.
R O B E R T L A D O U C E U R , D O M I N I Q U E DUBt~, AND ANNIE BUJOLD
365
METHOD
S bj m The sample was comprised of 1,320 French speaking children from the 4th, 5th and 6th grades in schools in the region of Quebec city. All schools were urban. There was no significant age difference between boys and girls. Table 1 shows the number of respondents according to age and gender.
Instruments of Measure The youngsters were questioned with the help of a questionnaire 1 measuring gambling participation. The purpose was not to identify the prevalence of pathological gamblers but to provide empirical data when gambling activities start. Seven questions, both open ended and multiple choice, inquired about the choice of games on which they bet, amounts and objects wagered, sources of money used by the child for betting and gambling behaviors. The survey was tested with each age group to verify whether the questions were easily understood. About 10 children from each grade (4th, 5th and 6th) were asked to comment on the questionnaire and to describe the difficulties they had in filling it out. No difficulties were reported, so the survey questions were left in their original form.
Procedure T w o research assistants (1 undergraduate and 1 graduate student in psychology) administered questionnaires in the classrooms. Each group was visited by one of the research assistants. The teacher
Table 1 Distribution of Sample According to Age and Gender Age
Gender
8 yrs
9 yrs
10 yrs
11 yrs
12 yrs
13 yrs
Average Age
0.8%
23.1%
28.8%
34.5%
12.0%
0.8%
10.4 yrs
IA copy of this instrument is available upon request.
Boys
Girls
52.6%
47.4%
366
JOURNAL OF GAMBLING STUDIES
remained in the room but did not intervene. The assistant first explained that the study was about the gambling behaviors of grade school children. He defined gambling as being an activity that involves an element of risk or chance where money is either won or lost. After this explanation, the assistant asked for examples of activities where gambling is involved and also suggested some others. H e also remarked that video games are not considered gambling unless the " parties involved have bet money on the outcome of the game. It was explained that each question must be completed by all the children in the class before the assistant presents the next one. All age groups received the same instruction. Students required 10 to 15 minutes to answer all the questions.
RESULTS
Eighty-six percent of the respondents said that they had wagered money and 37.2% admitted to having bet an object that was dear to them. Lottery tickets constituted the most popular game, with 61.1% of the children stating they had bought them. The second most popular form of gambling was bingo (55.5%), followed by playing cards for money (53.3%), betting on sports (47.9%), betting on specific events (32.3 %), playing video gambling games such as slot machines or video poker (28.6 %), and betting on games of skill (10.7 %). Results indicate that 8.4% of the children played cards and 8.2% bet on sports at least once a week. As well, 7.7% played lottery, 4% played bingo and 3.4% gambled on video poker and fruit machines at least once a week. The majority of the children said they had bet money with their parents, especially on lotteries (58.5%). Over a third of the children said they gambled with their parents when they played cards for money (35.8%), bet on sports (34%), played on video gambling machines (26.4%), or played bingo (22%). Gambling behaviors differed with the age of the children: 80.5 % of 9 years old or less had wagered money as compared to 85.2% of 10 years old, 87.6% of 11 years old and 94% of 12 years old or more (Table 2). These differences are statistically significant (X2 = 23.93, df = 3, p < . 0 0 1 ) .
Certain youngsters bet relatively large amounts of money: 11.4% said they had gambled more than $15 in a single day, 8.3 % between
R O B E R T LADOUCEUR, D O M I N I Q U E DUBI~, AND ANNIE BUJOLD
367
Table 2 G a m b l i n g B e h a v i o r s A c c o u r d i n g to Age
Bet money Have bet an important belonging Bet with parent
l l yrs
12 yrs or More
X2, df = 3
85.2%
87.6%
94.0%
18.03"**
43.7 70.9
39.3 76.6
32.1 83.5
34.7 85.6
11.50"* 22.83***
46.4 19.3 22.9 32.1 28.9
56.0 22.6 22.9 35.4 33.5
67.8 32.8 17.5 36.3 35.8
61.7 29.5 30.1 41.0 38.4
35.86*** 18.15"** 10.89"* ns ns
41.7
35.6
35.9
29.2
ns
39.8
36.7
40.5
48.2
9 yrs or Less
l Oyrs
80.5%
Types of games played
Lotteries Machines* Bingo Cards Betting on sports Others (games of skill or betting on specific events) Bet once a week or more on one or more of the above games
--
*Video poker and fruit machine **p< .01 ***p
This study identifies the gambling behavior of 1,320 p r i m a r y school students aged 8 to 12 of the 4th, 5th and 6th grades. Eighty-six percent admitted to having, at some time or another, bet money. Lotteries are the most popular form of gambling for this age group. Sixty-one percent of these students gamble with lotteries. In descending order of popularity, other games played by students were: bingo, card-playing for money, bets on sports, wagering on specific events, video gambling (video poker and slot machines), and finally betting on games of skill. G a m b l i n g behaviors differed according to gender. M o r e than 40% of respondents reported g a m b l i n g once a week or more for at least one game. Because of the early development of gambling behavior in children, prevention programs for pathological gambling should be implemented as early as the fourth grade.
Gambling is currently widespread and growing. American, Canadian and British studies show that over 80% of adults approve of gambling practices and two out of three adults participate regularly in this form of recreation. Certain people will develop a progressive and chronic incapacity to resist gambling which will reduce their quality of life and that of their close family and friends. In the US, Volberg and
This research was supported by a grant from the Fonds Richelieu. All correspondence should be addressed to Robert Ladouceur, Ph.D., Ecole de Psychologie, Universit6 Laval, Qu6bec, Qu6bec, Canada, G1K 7P4.
Journal of Gambling Studies Vol. 10(4), Winter 1994 9 1994 Human Sciences Press, Inc.
363
364
JOURNAL OF GAMBLING STUDIES
Steadman (1988) estimate that between 1.7% to 2.8% of the adult population suffer from pathological gambling. In the province of Quebec, a recent survey indicated that 1.2 % of the adult population were pathological gamblers (Ladouceur, 1991). Many studies show that a large proportion of adolescents gamble regularly (Lesieur & Klein, 1987; Ide-Smith & Lea, 1988; Ladouceur & Mireault, 1988; Jacob, 1989; Lesieur et al., 1991; Ladouceur, Dub~ & Bujold, 1994). According to a study by Lesieur and Klein (1987), 49 % of teenagers play cards, 46 % go to casinos and 45 % bet on sports or the lottery. In the province of Quebec, the majority of adolescents play lotteries (60%), bet on sports (45%) or on cards (36%) (Ladouceur & Mireault, 1988). In England, teenage youths prefer slot machines (81%) and cards (36%) (Ide-Smith & Lea, 1988). These numbers highlight the fact that the games that are most popular are also the most available. A comparison of these different studies demonstrates that the prevalence of pathological gambling is higher in teenagers than in adults. Gambling behaviors develop very early in an individual's life. Dell, Ruzicka and Palisi (1981) reported that 37% of 35 pathological gamblers interviewed said they began to gamble before age ten, 47 % between 11 and 18 years of age and only 14% at 19 years old or later. In this study, the average age for a first contact with gambling was 13 years of age. Griffiths (1990) indicated that adolescents addicted to slot-machines began gambling significantly earlier (9.22 years of age) than non addicted individuals (11.34 years of age). In the study by IdeSmith and Lea (1988), adolescents report starting gambling at an average age of 8 years, 3 months for boys and 8 years, 9 months for girls. This confirms observations already made by Livingston (1974) who stated that most gamblers in Gamblers Anonymous were introduced to this practice by their parents or neighbors at a very early age. Gambling behaviors in adults and teenagers are relatively well known. However, there is an urgent need to investigate the behavior of grade school children. The only studies that discuss gambling behaviors of children used a retrospective design in which adolescents and adults were questioned on their childhood behaviors concerning gambling to determine at which age their gambling first started (Griffith, 1990; IdeSmith & Lea, 1988). First hand knowledge of gambling in children will yield valuable information which will enable the development of more adequate prevention programs for pathological gambling.
R O B E R T L A D O U C E U R , D O M I N I Q U E DUBt~, AND ANNIE BUJOLD
365
METHOD
S bj m The sample was comprised of 1,320 French speaking children from the 4th, 5th and 6th grades in schools in the region of Quebec city. All schools were urban. There was no significant age difference between boys and girls. Table 1 shows the number of respondents according to age and gender.
Instruments of Measure The youngsters were questioned with the help of a questionnaire 1 measuring gambling participation. The purpose was not to identify the prevalence of pathological gamblers but to provide empirical data when gambling activities start. Seven questions, both open ended and multiple choice, inquired about the choice of games on which they bet, amounts and objects wagered, sources of money used by the child for betting and gambling behaviors. The survey was tested with each age group to verify whether the questions were easily understood. About 10 children from each grade (4th, 5th and 6th) were asked to comment on the questionnaire and to describe the difficulties they had in filling it out. No difficulties were reported, so the survey questions were left in their original form.
Procedure T w o research assistants (1 undergraduate and 1 graduate student in psychology) administered questionnaires in the classrooms. Each group was visited by one of the research assistants. The teacher
Table 1 Distribution of Sample According to Age and Gender Age
Gender
8 yrs
9 yrs
10 yrs
11 yrs
12 yrs
13 yrs
Average Age
0.8%
23.1%
28.8%
34.5%
12.0%
0.8%
10.4 yrs
IA copy of this instrument is available upon request.
Boys
Girls
52.6%
47.4%
366
JOURNAL OF GAMBLING STUDIES
remained in the room but did not intervene. The assistant first explained that the study was about the gambling behaviors of grade school children. He defined gambling as being an activity that involves an element of risk or chance where money is either won or lost. After this explanation, the assistant asked for examples of activities where gambling is involved and also suggested some others. H e also remarked that video games are not considered gambling unless the " parties involved have bet money on the outcome of the game. It was explained that each question must be completed by all the children in the class before the assistant presents the next one. All age groups received the same instruction. Students required 10 to 15 minutes to answer all the questions.
RESULTS
Eighty-six percent of the respondents said that they had wagered money and 37.2% admitted to having bet an object that was dear to them. Lottery tickets constituted the most popular game, with 61.1% of the children stating they had bought them. The second most popular form of gambling was bingo (55.5%), followed by playing cards for money (53.3%), betting on sports (47.9%), betting on specific events (32.3 %), playing video gambling games such as slot machines or video poker (28.6 %), and betting on games of skill (10.7 %). Results indicate that 8.4% of the children played cards and 8.2% bet on sports at least once a week. As well, 7.7% played lottery, 4% played bingo and 3.4% gambled on video poker and fruit machines at least once a week. The majority of the children said they had bet money with their parents, especially on lotteries (58.5%). Over a third of the children said they gambled with their parents when they played cards for money (35.8%), bet on sports (34%), played on video gambling machines (26.4%), or played bingo (22%). Gambling behaviors differed with the age of the children: 80.5 % of 9 years old or less had wagered money as compared to 85.2% of 10 years old, 87.6% of 11 years old and 94% of 12 years old or more (Table 2). These differences are statistically significant (X2 = 23.93, df = 3, p < . 0 0 1 ) .
Certain youngsters bet relatively large amounts of money: 11.4% said they had gambled more than $15 in a single day, 8.3 % between
R O B E R T LADOUCEUR, D O M I N I Q U E DUBI~, AND ANNIE BUJOLD
367
Table 2 G a m b l i n g B e h a v i o r s A c c o u r d i n g to Age
Bet money Have bet an important belonging Bet with parent
l l yrs
12 yrs or More
X2, df = 3
85.2%
87.6%
94.0%
18.03"**
43.7 70.9
39.3 76.6
32.1 83.5
34.7 85.6
11.50"* 22.83***
46.4 19.3 22.9 32.1 28.9
56.0 22.6 22.9 35.4 33.5
67.8 32.8 17.5 36.3 35.8
61.7 29.5 30.1 41.0 38.4
35.86*** 18.15"** 10.89"* ns ns
41.7
35.6
35.9
29.2
ns
39.8
36.7
40.5
48.2
9 yrs or Less
l Oyrs
80.5%
Types of games played
Lotteries Machines* Bingo Cards Betting on sports Others (games of skill or betting on specific events) Bet once a week or more on one or more of the above games
--
*Video poker and fruit machine **p< .01 ***p
