The Internet represents a relatively new phenomenon, offering players a convenient, easily accessible, and relatively anonymous gambling venue. This study explored Internet gambling in a sample of youth aged 12 to 24 years. Students in high school, CEGEP, and university were asked to report on their involvement in gambling activities both on-line and off-line. In the past 12 months, 4.6% of participants had gambled on the Internet, with higher rates among males (5.8%) compared to females (2.3%). As well, 36.6% of youth reported that in the past 12 months they had gambled on Internet 'practice' gambling sites where no money was required to play. Concerns about the possible effect of Internet gambling on youth are raised and possible future directions for research are explored.

Friend, family and global social support, peer deviance and gambling frequency were examined as predictors of gambling involvement. Analyses focused on the predictors of gambling involvement with the covariate, drug-use, removed. For the 962 college student (mean age 18.5) participants, global social support, peer deviance and gambling frequency were the best predictors of gambling involvement with drug-use removed. Although males and females both reported diminished perceived supports globally and increased peer deviance as their reported level of gambling involvement increased, females reported less perceived support from all three networks. Males did not perceive less support from friends and family as their gambling involvement increased. The social support construct provides a social contextualization for future gambling involvement investigations. One important implication of this research is that diminished global social support will need to be recognized as a significant risk factor predicting problem gambling by researchers, clinicians and politicians alike. Peer deviance will need to be recognized as a significant risk-factor for males as well as females. Males reported more gambling-related problems than females. Although peer deviance significantly increased for both males and females with greater gambling involvement, peer deviance was higher among males than females. Males perceived no diminished sense of family and friend support. However, this shift for females appears to be evidence of diminished perceived support from all sources: family and friends as well as globally. Researchers, clinicians and politicians need to be aware that adolescents and young adults are at increased risk for encountering gambling problems as gambling frequency and peer deviance affiliation increases, and social support perceived to be available globally diminishes.

Youth problem gambling has become an important social policy issue. Approximately 80% of adolescents report having gambled, while 4--7% of adolescents develop serious gambling problems and another 10--15% remain at-risk for a gambling problem. Revenues in the gambling industry have grown 400% in the past 10 years, partially attributable to a marked increase in gambling advertisements. The objectives of this study are to examine general themes found in gambling advertisements, to determine the characteristics (situational and structural) of advertisements that have an effect on youth, and to determine the extent to which adolescents are influenced by these advertisements. Results from the focus groups suggest that aesthetic characteristics (bright colors, flashing lights) associated with gambling advertisements are influential in capturing and maintaining adolescent's attention and increasing their desire to gamble. Youth also appear to be drawn to advertisements typifying young, happy adults enjoying themselves, engaging in a pleasurable activity with the potential for winning money. Further analyses suggest a number of developmental and gender trends. The results are discussed with respect to the initiation and maintenance of youth gambling behaviours, as well as implications for prevention and future research.

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Positive and negative outcome expectancies have been found to play a significant role in adolescents' decisions to engage in drug and alcohol use. In light of the parallel risk and protective factors among high-risk behaviors, youth gambling outcome expectancies were explored through the development of the 23-item Gambling Expectancy Questionnaire (GEQ) using a sample of 1,013 students aged 12-18. The final GEQ consists of three positive expectancy scales (i.e., Enjoyment/Arousal, Self-Enhancement, Money) and two negative expectancy scales (i.e., Over-Involvement, Emotional Impact). Significant gender, age and DSM-IV-MR-J gambling group differences were identified on the scales of the GEQ. Stepwise logistic regression among gamblers was performed separately for males and females to predict group membership into either social or problem gambling categories. The results of this study suggest that non-gamblers, social gamblers, at-risk gamblers and PPGs differ in their expectancies of the positive and negative outcomes of gambling behavior. In particular, PPGs highly anticipate both the positive and negative outcomes of gambling. Among males, these perceptions differentiate those who gamble excessively and those who do not. For females, on the other hand, outcome expectancies may have less predictive value. These findings were interpreted in terms of their implications for prevention, treatment and future research.

As gambling becomes more accessible, problems associated with gambling have begun to affect ever increasing numbers of youth. Despite legal restrictions in some jurisdictions, Internet gambling is undergoing a massive worldwide expansion. The relationship between the convenience, anonymity, and the 24-hour availability of Internet gambling and problem gambling in young people presents a serious concern. This study explored Internet gambling in a sample of university students aged 18 to 20 years. Students reported on their involvement in gambling activities both on and off the Internet. In the past 12 months, 6.7% of participants had gambled for money on the Internet, with higher rates among males (11.0%) than females (.8%). As well, 39.4% of students reported that in the past 12 months they had played gambling-type games on Internet 'practice' sites, where no money was required to play. Concerns about the possible effects of Internet gambling are raised and possible future directions for research are presented.

The study of resilient children has overturned many deficit focused models about the ontogenesis of children raised in adversity. Resilience research has flourished over the last three decades, and emphasis on the development of resilience skills are increasingly being incorporated into prevention programs. This study explores whether youth identified as resilient are as likely as those identified as vulnerable to engage in excessive gambling behaviour, and to examine the impact of several risk and protective factors on gambling severity among adolescents. The sample consisted of 1,273 students aged 12-19. The results suggest that vulnerable youth, low in resilience, are more likely to meet diagnostic criteria for problem gambling. There were no significant differences between resilient and low risk-exposure groups suggesting that the individual protective factors examined in this study may prevent maladaptive outcomes. These findings were interpreted with respect to their implications for resilience and prevention research.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McGill University, 2005. / Title from screen (viewed on July 23, 2009). Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, McGill University. Advisor: Jeffrey L. Derevensky. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-87).

Thesis (M.A.)--McGill University (Canada), 2001. / Adviser: Jeffrey L. Derevensky. Includes bibliographical references.