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Gambling Behaviors and Problem Gambling: A Population-Based Comparison of Transgender/Gender Diverse and Cisgender Adolescents

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Abstract

Most gambling research utilizes general youth samples and focuses on binary gender categories; few studies examine and compare gambling behaviors between transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth and their cisgender peers. The current study used population-based data from the 2016 Minnesota Student Survey to compare the prevalence of gambling behaviors and problem gambling among TGD versus cisgender adolescents, in addition to examining differences by birth-assigned sex. The analytic sample consisted of 80,929 students (including, n = 2168 [2.7%] TGD) in 9th and 11th grades. Chi-square tests and Cohen’s d effect sizes were used for all comparisons. TGD youth reported greater involvement in most gambling behaviors and problem gambling compared to cisgender youth. In comparisons by birth-assigned sex, TGD youth assigned male at birth were particularly at risk for gambling involvement and problem gambling. TGD youth assigned female at birth also reported higher rates of problem gambling than both cisgender youth assigned male and female at birth. Results suggest that examining rates of gambling behavior and problem gambling as well as identifying disparities in vulnerable youth populations is crucial in order to develop culturally responsive and gender inclusive prevention, intervention, and outreach programs.

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Acknowledgements

Minnesota Student Survey data were provided by public school students in Minnesota via local public school districts and are managed by the Minnesota Student Survey Interagency Team.

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R21HD088757. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program in Human Sexuality, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, 1300 S. 2nd St., Suite 180, Minneapolis, MN, 55454, USA

    G. Nic Rider & Eli Coleman

  2. School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, 308 Harvard St. SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Barbara J. McMorris

  3. Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, 717 Delaware St. SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, USA

    Amy L. Gower & Marla E. Eisenberg

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  1. G. Nic Rider
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  4. Eli Coleman
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  5. Marla E. Eisenberg
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Correspondence to G. Nic Rider.

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Conflict of interest

G. Nic Rider, Barbara J. McMorris, Amy L. Gower, and Marla E. Eisenberg declare that they have no conflicts of interest. Eli Coleman serves as the Co-Chair of the Sexual Health Advisory Council for Church & Dwight, Inc.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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Rider, G., McMorris, B.J., Gower, A.L. et al. Gambling Behaviors and Problem Gambling: A Population-Based Comparison of Transgender/Gender Diverse and Cisgender Adolescents. J Gambl Stud 35, 79–92 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-018-9806-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-018-9806-7

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