Youth leisure and gambling behaviour 1 1 YOUTH GAMBLING IN CONTEXT: THE STRUCTURE OF YOUNG PEOPLE’S LEISURE AND THEIR GAMBLING BEHAVIOUR

5,926 words Moore, S., & Ohtsuka, K. (2000). The structure of young people’s leisure and their gambling behaviour. Behaviour Change, 17, 167-177. Youth leisure and gambling behaviour 2 2 Free time constitutes up to 50 percent of an adolescent’s day and that young people have more leisure time than adults. Leisure may lead to boredom, a risk factor for problem gambling. Three different models of time usage were compared as potential predictors of gambling behaviour and problem gambling among 769 adolescents (15- to 18-years old) from five secondary schools in Melbourne. More leisure time predicted more frequent gambling behaviour for girls and boys, as did a greater amount of unstructured leisure time. Specific activity factors provided the best time usage-based prediction of gambling behaviour (accounting for approximately 20 percent of the variance for boys and 18 percent for girls). More time socialising and being involved i