Yale University Research Shows That Intervention Is Needed To Solve School-Based Gambling Problems

A study led by researchers at Yale University says that interventions are needed to target school-based gambling and stop the wagering problem that takes place on school grounds.

The findings of the research suggests that school-based efforts is vital to increase awareness of school gambling among teenagers. School teachers, families, educators, students, pediatricians and other professionals may intervene appropriately, according to the scientific report published in ScienceDirect.

The research was conducted on 1,988 high school students in Connecticut. Out of the total population, 40 per cent said that they have engaged in gambling inside the school premises in the last 12 months. Also, the research result shows that those students have poorer academic achievement. They have also shown permissive attitudes with regards to gambling, Yale News reported.

There are 790 students who are reported to have engaged in gambling at school, 650 of them were male and only 140 were female. Furthermore, a great fraction of the said population came from household with both parents present. Also, most of the gambling students said that their parents were neutral of the gambling activities.

The study was made by the Department of Psychiatry in Yale University. Affiliated in the research were Dawn Foster, PhD, MPH who is an assistant professor of psychiatry; another was Marc Potenza, MD, PhD who is a professor of psychiatry in the school and also the director of the Center of Excellence in Gambling Research. Other members include Rani Hoff, PhD, MPH, ; Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, PhD, both of them are professors of psychiatry; and Yvonne Yau, MSc who is a post-graduate associate of the research.

Young people engage in almost all kinds of gambling activities including government promoted games. They also engage in card games, dice games, board games and even bet on sports. Young gamblers bet less compared to adult gamblers. They also gamble less frequently due to factors like money access and opportunities, says a scientific report published in NCBI.