Attitudes toward gambling among adolescents

Figures & data

Table 1 Means and standard deviations of ATGS items.

ATGS item	M^a	SD	n
There are too many opportunities for gambling nowadays.	2.21	0.98	2031
People should have the right to gamble whenever they want.†	3.12	0.98	2028
Gambling should be discouraged.	2.81	1.00	2032
Most people who gamble do so sensibly.†	2.85	0.93	2030
Gambling is a fool's game.	3.50	0.99	2037
Gambling is dangerous for family life.	2.60	0.95	2035
Gambling is an important part of cultural life.†	2.24	0.94	2035
Gambling is a harmless form of entertainment.†	2.46	0.92	2031
Gambling is a waste of time.	2.65	1.03	2038
On balance gambling is good for society.†	2.29	0.82	2036
Gambling livens up life.†	2.27	0.87	2030
It would be better if gambling was banned altogether.	3.24	1.03	2037
Gambling is like a drug.	3.07	1.10	2036
Gambling is good for communities.†	2.35	0.86	2036
M composite score variable	37.74
SD composite score variable		7.48
n composite score variable			1977

a Participants answered the items on a 5-point scale ranging from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (5). For the single ATGS items, mean values higher than 3 (42 for the composite score variable) represent a positive attitude and mean values lower than 3 (42 composite score variable) represent a negative attitude toward gambling. A mean value of 3 (42 composite score variable) represents a neutral attitude toward gambling (cf. Orford et al., 2009).

† Reverse-coded items.

Table 2 Bivariate correlations (Pearson).

	1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.	7.	8.	9.	10.	11.	12.	13.	14.	15.	16.
1. ATGS composite score		− .25	− .06	− .17	− .11	− .10	− .02	.09	.18	.28	− .17	.49	.18	.16	.11	− .02
2. Gender^a			.04	.29	.04	.34	.004	− .01	− .23	− .29	.25	− .14	.04	.001	.004	− .03
3. IPIP Extraversion				.35	.11	− .16	.12	.20	.23	.07	.07	− .04	.00	− .03	− .01	− .03
4. IPIP Agreeableness					.19	.06	.13	− .06	.01	− .08	.23	− .11	.01	− .003	.004	− .05
5. IPIP Conscientiousness						− .15	− .07	− .34	− .13	− .09	.23	− .11	− .03	− .02	− .05	− .03
6. IPIP Neuroticism							.08	.20	− .13	− .17	− .004	− .01	− .06	− .04	− .03	.04
7. IPIP Intellect/imagination								.11	.18	.07	.01	− .01	.03	− .01	− .02	− .01
8. Impulsivity									.29	.11	− .27	.14	.04	.06	.07	.09
9. Sensation Seeking										.32	− .19	.17	.09	.06	.05	.03
10. Gambling-related knowledge											− .15	.39	.22	.17	.13	.03
11. Parental monitoring												− .18	− .01	.01	.001	− .10
12. Family/peer approval of gambling													.33	.38	.30	.06
Family/peer gambling history
13. Gambled in lifetime														.53	.38	.02
14. Gambled once a month															.67	.16
15. Gambled once a week																.25
16. Problematic gambling

Note: Correlation coefficients displayed in bold numbers are significant <  .05 (two-tailed).

a Gender was coded: male = 0, female = 1.

Table 3 Multiple linear regression of attitudes toward gambling.

	Dependent variable ATGS composite score
Independent variables	B (SE)	β	t	p
Constant	31.93 (2.17)	–	14.74	<  .001
Gender (male = 0, female = 1)	− 2.34 (0.36)	− .16	− 6.51	<  .001
IPIP Extraversion	− 0.25 (0.21)	− .03	− 1.21	.23
IPIP Agreeableness	− 0.58 (0.26)	− .05	− 2.24	.03
IPIP Conscientiousness	− 0.43 (0.22)	− .04	− 1.93	.05
IPIP Neuroticism	− 0.28 (0.22)	− .03	− 1.29	.20
IPIP Intellect/imagination	− 0.24 (0.28)	− .02	− 0.85	.39
Impulsivity	0.01 (0.06)	.002	0.08	.93
Sensation Seeking	1.19 (0.50)	.06	2.36	.02
Gambling-related knowledge	0.16 (0.17)	.02	0.91	.36
Parental monitoring	− 0.23 (0.24)	− .02	− 0.95	.35
Family/peer approval of gambling	4.56 (0.25)	.43	17.92	<  .001
Family/peer gambling history
Gambled in lifetime	1.14 (0.51)	.05	2.24	.03
Gambled once a month	0.06 (0.77)	.002	0.08	.94
Gambled once a week	− 1.13 (0.86)	− .04	− 1.31	.19
Problematic gambling	− 3.75 (1.65)	− .05	− 2.27	.02

R² = .29; adjusted R² = .29; F (15,1762) = 48.89, p <  .001

Note: Significant t-statistics are shown in bold letters.

Orford, J., Griffiths, M., Wardle, H., Sproston, K., & Erens, B. (2009). Negative public attitudes towards gambling: Findings from the 2007 British Gambling Prevalence Survey using a new attitude scale. International Gambling Studies, 9, 39–54. 10.1080/14459790802652217.

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