[accordion start]
Full citation
Calado, F., Alexandre, J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2020). Gambling among adolescents and emerging adults: A cross-cultural study between Portuguese and English youth. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 18(3), 737–753. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-9980-y
[accordion end]
Region & Target Population
- Regions: Portugal and England (United Kingdom)
- Target population: Older adolescents and emerging adults
- Age range: Late adolescence through early adulthood (includes the transition into emerging adulthood)
- Recruitment settings:
- Secondary schools
- First-year university classes
Study Design:
Cross-sectional, cross-cultural survey study
Sample Characteristics
- Participants: Youth and young people from Portugal and England
- Age profile: English participants were older on average than Portuguese participants
- Regulatory context difference: England allows legal access to some gambling products (e.g., lotteries and scratchcards) from age 16, compared with 18 in Portugal
- Data collection period: Late 2010s (exact year not specified in article)
Measures Used
- Problem gambling: DSM-IV-MR-J (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual–based measure for juveniles)
- Gambling participation:
- Land-based gambling activities (sports betting, scratchcards, roulette, etc.)
- Online gambling activities, including Online sports betting and Gambling with virtual money on social networking sites and demo platforms
- Psychological and family factors:
- Sensation seeking
- Cognitive distortions related to gambling
- Attachment to parents (anger toward caregivers, empathy, trust)
Research Questions
- How prevalent are at-risk and problem gambling among older adolescents and emerging adults in Portugal and England?
- Which gambling activities are most commonly used in each country, both offline and online?
- How do individual traits (e.g., sensation seeking, cognitive distortions) and family attachment factors predict problem gambling during the transition to emerging adulthood?
- Do these predictors operate similarly across national contexts?
Key Findings
- Prevalence differences:
- Problem gambling prevalence was 2.6% in Portugal and 4.8% in England.
- At-risk and problem gambling categories were consistently higher in the English sample.
- Product use patterns:
- In both countries, sports betting and scratchcards were the most common land based gambling activities.
- Online gambling was common, particularly online sports betting and gambling with virtual money on social networking and demo sites.
- English youth were more likely to report roulette, both offline and online.
- Role of sensation seeking:
- Sensation seeking emerged as a strong and consistent predictor of problem gambling in both countries.
- It acted as a mediating variable between parental attachment dimensions and gambling risk.
- Family attachment pathways:
- Youth who reported greater anger toward caregivers or lower empathy tended to show higher sensation seeking, which in turn increased gambling risk.
- This indirect pathway was observed in both national samples.
- Cognitive distortions:
- Cognitive distortions (e.g., predictive control beliefs) showed stronger or near significant effects in Portugal than in England, suggesting some culturally specific cognitive pathways.
Study Conclusion
The authors conclude that problem gambling among older adolescents and emerging adults in Portugal and England is meaningful and non-trivial, and that cross-national differences are plausibly linked to differences in access and early exposure within each gambling environment. They emphasize sensation seeking as a central risk factor across contexts and highlight its role as a mechanism connecting attachment-related difficulties to gambling risk. The authors also draw attention to the broader youth gambling ecosystem by including online and simulated/virtual money gambling activities, arguing these exposures matter for understanding how gambling becomes normalized during the transition into adulthood.
Overall, the study reinforces the view that emerging adulthood represents a critical risk window for gambling problems, where individual traits (sensation seeking, cognition) interact with structural factors (availability, legal age, product mix). The authors argue that prevention efforts should address both psychological vulnerabilities and the broader regulatory and technological environments that shape youth gambling trajectories.
