Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, 100 Collip Circle, Suite 200, London, ON, N6G 4X8, Canada.
Department of Sociology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
BMC Public Health. 2018 Oct 11;18(1):1167. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-6069-2.
With the proliferation of social casino games (SCGs) online, which offer the opportunity to gamble without monetary gains and losses, comes a growing concern regarding the effects of these unregulated games on public health, particularly among adolescents. However, given the limited research pertaining to SCG use, little is currently known about the manner in which adolescents engage with this new gambling medium. The present study aims to identify the factors that characterize adolescent social casino gamers, and to determine whether these factors differ by SCG type. Moreover, the study examines the extent to which social casino gaming is associated with monetary gambling and problem gambling in this cohort.
Data were obtained from students in Grades 9 to 12 (n = 10,035) residing in the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Participants completed the Youth Gambling Survey (YGS), which is a supplementary instrument administered alongside the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSTADS). Logistic regression was used to assess the factors associated with SCG play.
Overall, 12.4% of respondents reported having participated in SCGs in the past three months. Compared to adolescents who did not report playing SCGs, SCG players were typically more likely to participate in monetary gambling activities, and were more prevalently classified as problem gamblers of low-to-moderate severity or high severity. Although profiles of SCG players differed across SCG game types, factors significantly associated with the playing of SCGs were gender, weekly spending money, having friends and parents who gamble, and screen time. It was also shown that current smokers were significantly more likely to participate in simulated slots online relative to adolescents who did not play SCGs.
Significant associations exist between SCG play, monetary gambling, and problem gambling among adolescents. Gambling intervention efforts directed at this population should aim to identify personal and environmental factors associated with social casino gaming, and should be tailored to different types of SCGs.
随着社交博彩游戏（SCG）在网上的泛滥，这些游戏提供了无需货币得失即可赌博的机会，人们越来越担心这些不受监管的游戏对公共健康的影响，尤其是在青少年中。然而，由于关于 SCG 使用的研究有限，目前对于青少年如何使用这种新的赌博媒介知之甚少。本研究旨在确定青少年社交博彩游戏玩家的特征，并确定这些特征是否因 SCG 类型而异。此外，该研究还考察了社交博彩游戏在该群体中与货币赌博和问题赌博的关联程度。
数据来自安大略省、萨斯喀彻温省和纽芬兰和拉布拉多省的 9 至 12 年级学生（n=10,035）。参与者完成了青少年赌博调查（YGS），这是在加拿大学生烟草、酒精和毒品调查（CSTADS）中附加的一项工具。使用逻辑回归评估与 SCG 游戏相关的因素。
总体而言，12.4%的受访者报告在过去三个月内参与过 SCG。与不报告玩 SCG 的青少年相比，SCG 玩家更有可能参与货币赌博活动，并且更普遍被归类为低至中度严重程度或高严重程度的问题赌徒。尽管 SCG 玩家的特征因 SCG 游戏类型而异，但与玩 SCG 显著相关的因素是性别、每周零花钱、有朋友和父母赌博，以及屏幕时间。还表明，与不玩 SCG 的青少年相比，当前吸烟者更有可能参与在线模拟老虎机。
在青少年中，SCG 游戏、货币赌博和问题赌博之间存在显著关联。针对该人群的赌博干预措施应旨在确定与社交博彩游戏相关的个人和环境因素，并针对不同类型的 SCG 进行定制。
