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Executive Summary - A longitudinal study of gambling in late adolescence and early adulthood: the ALSPAC Gambling Study

Author: A. Emond, M. Griffiths & L. Hollén Published: December 2019
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Summary

This executive summary by the University of Bristol and Nottingham Trent University for GambleAware describes a longitudinal study examining gambling behaviours in young people aged 17 to 24 years using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort.

Topics covered

  • prevalence and patterns of gambling from ages 17 to 24
  • factors associated with regular gambling
  • problem gambling and associated risk factors

Key findings

Gambling participation increased from 54% at age 17 to 66% at age 24. Regular weekly gambling showed a strong male bias. Problem gambling affected 6% to 7% and was associated with factors like:
  • parental gambling problems
  • financial difficulties
  • involvement in crime
  • substance use
Online gambling was the only activity that consistently increased.

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