Influence of social determinants of health on gambling in adolescents. Analysis of the results of the ESTUDES 2022 survey.

Abstract

Background: There is globally proliferation of pathological gambling among the adolescent population. This public health problem requires the development of effective preventive strategies based on the risk factors. The aim of this study is to analyse the social determinants of health which may be predictors of online and face-to-face gambling in young people.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out using the Survey on Drug Use in Secondary Education in Spain, ESTUDES (2021), as the main data collection tool. The selected sample consisted of N = 22 321.

Results: Gender, age, academic performance and compulsive internet use were found to be predictors of online and face-to-face gambling. Gambling with money was statistically significantly related to male gender, age, presence of truancy, low academic achievement, compulsive internet use, mother's educational level and mother's employment status.

Conclusions: This study offers a detailed analysis of connection between social and demographic factors that precede gambling beginning and the presence of problem behaviours. Academic achievement and gender differences appear to relate to the pathological gambling in adolescents. These should be taken as a reference when generating preventive strategies that allow us to focus on the most vulnerable population.