Parents urged to pay more attention to youth gambling problem
Youth gambling problem is underrated by the majority of parents, and it is important to target parents as a method of helping to prevent youth gambling, a child psychologist said here on Monday.
The current efforts to prevent the initiation of youth gambling are possibly being undermined by parents as the majority of parents reported having gambled with their children and do not view gambling as a serious youth issue, according to Jeffrey Derevensky, a child psychologist and professor at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
Speaking at the Singapore Problem Gambling Conference 2009, he said that a recent survey which involves 2,710 parents in Canada showed that gambling was found to be the least commonly discussed issue of the 13 risky behaviors examined.
Only 40 percent of parents consider gambling as a serious youth issue, which is far less than drug use (87 percent), alcohol use(82percent), drink driving(81 percent), unsafe sexual activities(81 percent) and violence in schools and bullying (75 percent).
He said the survey also find that parents are sometimes involved in gambling activities with their children. The most commonly participated in gambling activities with their child included purchasing lottery scratch tickets (40 percent), raffle tickets for fund raising (36 percent), lottery draw tickets (12 percent) and bingo (9 percent).
The survey also showed that 21 percent of parents reported having purchased lottery tickets as a gift for their child, with 55 percent having purchased tickets when their child was less than14 years old.
"Given that parental behaviors and attitudes have a significant impact upon their children, the results highlight the importance of targeting parents as a method of helping to prevent youth gambling." Derenvensky said.
Echoing Derevensky's view, problem gambling epidemiologist Rachel Volberg said that efforts are needed to increase understanding of associations between youth gambling and other risky behaviors.
"Parents who gamble need to be educated about the increased risk of gambling problems for their children," she said.
The two-day Singapore Problem Gambling Conference 2009 brought together local and international experts to discuss issues on understanding and addressing youth gambling. The meeting aims to raise awareness of problem gambling among youth to carrying prevention work