Moving into gambling: Preliminary results from a qualitative longitudinal study

1. Moving into gambling: Preliminary results from a qualitative longitudinal study Søren Kristiansen, PhD Aalborg University samf-prodekan@adm.aau.dk

2. Trends in youth gambling research literature • Focus on individual risk factors: Gambling problems among youths are often associated with poor school performance (Winters et al. 1993); alcohol, tobacco and drug use (Gupta & Derevensky 1998), impulsivity (Nower et al. 2004); erroneous cognitions (Delfabbro & Thrupp 2003) and irrational beliefs (Emerson et al. 2007). • Gambling problems among youth populations is significantly more prevalent compared to adults. (Kristiansen & Jensen 2011; National Research Council 1999; Shaffer & Hall 2001), however: • The majority of children and youngsters have tried to gamble and do so for social and recreational reasons and report no related negative experiences (Di-Cicocco-Bloom & Romer 2011; Michaud 2006). • Few longitudinal studies, mostly large scale surveys

3. An apparent contradiction: Socially oriented gambling behavior and an individually focused research paradigm In addition, we know very little about how peer groups, family and community factors affect the gambling behaviors of current generations of adolescents and young adults

4. Research aim and questions • Aim: To integrate (1) a conception of gambling as a primarily social phenomenon with (2) a dynamic and sequential approach to the investigation of risk factors • Q1: Under what social circumstances do young Danes become engaged in gambling? • Q2: What roles do social contexts play in initiating child and adolescent gambling?

5. Theoretical approach • H. Becker’s (1953) learningtheory (+ careerconcept): An individualwillbeable to usemarihuannaonlywhenhegoesthrough a process of learing to conceive of it as an objectwhichcanbeusedthisway. Learn to smoke to produce real effects, learn to recognizeeffects and connectthem with drug use and learn to enjoy the perceived sensations (p.241-42). • Symbolicinteractionism: How is gambling percieved, whatare the experiences of gambling, whatdoes gambling mean in the worlds of Danish adolescents

6. Method and data • Interview data from a qualitative longitudinal prospective study of gambling behaviors among Danish adolescents aged 12-20 years. • Part of a panel study with three waves of interviews with young gamblers (classified by SOGS-RA) with a 10-12 month frequency. • One interview wave has been completed, 52 young Danes have been interviewed August - December 2011 • Verbatim transcripts, data management and analysis supported by Nvivo 9.0

7. Main findings – the familypath • Spontaneousparent invitations ”SometimesmyDad just says: wouldyoulike to check the lotto coupon?” • Observing the tricks of trade ”When I was 12 I was at a family party at my Grand dad’s place and my older cousin had brought a pack of cards. I was watching the game and when one of them left the table I took his place and played his cards. That’show I learned it.” • Symbol of adultrecognition ”I wasabout 13 when I firsttried to play Oddset withmyDad… I wasreallyhappy and proudthathewould let metry it, it was his money not mine thatwewagered.”

8. Main findings – the familypath • Gambling initation is a socialprocess -joyfull social interaction -internalization of norms and values • Gambling initation is a genderedprocess (male and female stereotypes) • The typicalstarting arena for younger age groups

9. Main findings – the peer grouppath • Gambling and sports (sportsbetting, male universe, sense of community, sharing and developingknowledge of teams, scoring statisticsetc) ”If there is a top match football game in TV, weoftenarrange to watch it together. Thenwe go down to the gas station and buysomecandy and coke. Weenjoy the game and placeour odds” • Social benefitsoutweightsfinancialloss ”Whenyou gamble withyourfriends and your odds do not workthen of courseonegetsdisappointed but wealways have a nice time togetheranyway”

10. Main findings – the peer grouppath • Gambling initiation related to sense of belonging to social community • Gambling online as a socialactivity and development of ”online” friendships • The starting arena for older age groups

11. Conclusions – the role of social contexts • Adolescent’s gambling participation is associated with level of gambling among their friends/families • The conception of gambling is redefined in social processes (from ”risky business” to entertainingleisurepursuit). • Transfer of skills/knowledge and attitudes towards gambling • The social aspect of gambling is the main initial driver – not the contentor the rules of the game

12. Questions for furtherinvestigation • The direction of causal loops: Do peer groupschangeindividual’s gambling behaviors or do individuals’s gambling behaviors changetheirfriendship relations? • Friendship relations/family relations and availability are significant factors in terms of gambling initiation. But what about gambling continuation? - actual gambling experiences (wins/losses) - sense of social community - chasing - friendship relations/family relations - …

13. Expecteduse of Nvivo features in strenghtheninglongitudinal approach • Coding (themes, statements) • Attributes (for unchangingpersonal information) • Formation of sets of participants (T1, T2, T3) -toscopequeries/searches in data -todisplay/indicatechangesbetweenwaves of interviews (i.e.matrixtables) …

14. Acknowledgements • Research Assistant: Karina V. Johannesen • Research Funding: The Danish Council for Independent Research