Many adults who gamble problematically begin to do so as adolescents. The authors of this study were interested in developing a tool that could help identify adolescents at-risk of developing problematic gambling behaviours. They surveyed 2716 adolescents aged 13 to 17 years old in southeastern Spain. The participants completed the Early Detection of Gambling among At-Risk Adolescents (EDGAR-A) Scale. This scale had been created by the researchers to assess four risk factors: normative perception, risk perception, accessibility, and parental attitudes towards gambling. The participants also answered questions about gambling frequency and intensity. The authors found that the EDGAR-A Scale distinguished well between adolescents who engaged in gambling frequently and those who did not gamble at all. The results provided support for the EDGAR-A Scale as a useful tool to detect problematic gambling in adolescents.
