Adolescent Gambling in Imphal (Manipur), India

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the prevalence of gambling participation, gambling factors and gambling behavior of seventh to twelfth grade adolescents in Imphal, Manipur (India). Three hundred and eighty four school students (grade 7-12) in Imphal, Manipur completed the DSM-IV-J gambling screen along with a questionnaire devised by the researcher inquiring about their gambling behavior, including items assessing the types of gambling activities in which they engage, frequency of involvement and reasons of gambling. The results indicate that, in general, 42.2% of the ninth to twelfth grade students had gambled in some form over the past year. The most popular gambling activities were sports betting, Housie Bumper Draw (Bingo) and ludu (dice). Most of the respondents (90%) in Imphal, Manipur gambled for fun and enjoyment. When the impact of personal factors on gambling participation was examined, the factors that predicted significant variance of gambling participation were gender, education level and ethnic group. And the environmental factors were availability of games, family, friends, media and technology. A third of participants (35.2%) have gambled few times a year and 27.8% of the participants gambled once a year. The rate of pathological gambling was 1.8% as measured by the DSM-IV-J. Gender differences were evident, with males engaging in gambling activities more than females. Differences in games were found, with males more attracted to sports betting, internet games and females were more attracted to ludu (dice) and lottery games. In this study, adolescent gambling behavior couldn’t predict problem gambling behavior as well as adult gambling behavior. Adolescent gambling awareness and prevention issues are addressed.