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Exposure to Gambling Advertisements and Gambling Behavior in Young People

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Abstract

A cross-sectional survey of 4617 adolescents and young adults from 38 schools in two German states was conducted in 2014 to assess the association between gambling advertisements and gambling behavior. Exposure to ten gambling advertisements was measured with masked ad images; students indicated contact frequency and brand recall. Main outcomes were several gambling behaviors including probable pathological gambling assessed with the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS ≥ 5). A total of 65.4 % of the students reported gambling at least once in their life; 42.2 % gambled in the last 12 months; 6.9 % gambled in the last week, and 2.8 % reported probable pathological gambling. The average frequency that one of the selected ads had been seen at least once was 29.5 %, the average brand recall rate was 9.4 %. After adjustment for confounding, multilevel mixed-effects logistic regressions revealed that high gambling ad exposure was positively related to all assessed gambling outcomes, with the strongest association for weekly gambling. Future studies need to clarify the temporal sequence and specificity of these associations.

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Acknowledgments

Birte Walther was involved at an early stage of the study (recruitment of the schools, development of the questionnaire). Malin Bachmann, Martin Bäuning, Teresa Frerichs, Leonie Herde, Corinna Köhler, Esther Pohanke, Luise Rehermann, and Inken Tödt supported the study by collecting data and preparing data for the analyses.

Funding

This research was supported by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Science, and Equality of Land Schleswig-Holstein. Matthis Morgenstern was Fellow of the Max Kade Foundation. The study sponsors had no role in study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the paper for publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Therapy and Health Research (IFT-Nord), Harmsstrasse 2, 24114, Kiel, Germany

    Franziska Clemens, Reiner Hanewinkel & Matthis Morgenstern

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  1. Franziska Clemens
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  2. Reiner Hanewinkel
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  3. Matthis Morgenstern
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Correspondence to Matthis Morgenstern.

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Clemens, F., Hanewinkel, R. & Morgenstern, M. Exposure to Gambling Advertisements and Gambling Behavior in Young People. J Gambl Stud 33, 1–13 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-016-9606-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-016-9606-x

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