Is problem gambling passed from parent to child?

View Open Access Article View Snapshot Back to Search Results

snapshot summaries

Author(s): Forrest, David ; McHale, Ian G.

Journal: Journal of Gambling Studies

Year Published: 2021

Date Added: December 01, 2020

In this study, the researchers investigated whether children are more likely to develop problem gambling (PG) as young adults if their parents had PG during childhood. The researchers looked at data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). The researchers found that parental gambling at age 6 was not associated with children’s PG at age 20. However, parental problematic gambling at age 6 predicted children’s PG at age 20. Daughters were more likely to have PG at age 20 if they had fathers with PG when they were children. Sons were more likely to have PG at age 20 if they had mothers with PG when they were children. These findings suggest that gambling problems can be passed from a parent to their child of the opposite gender. Prevention service providers can use this research to create gambling prevention programs for young adults who have reached the legal age of gambling. This group may be at higher risk of developing gambling problems than other age groups.

Citation: Forrest, D., & McHale, I. G. (2021). Transmission of problem gambling between adjacent generations. Journal of Gambling Studies, 37(2), 711-722. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-020-09977-8

Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-020-09977-8

Keywords: environment ; longitudinal studies ; problem gambling ; youth gambling

Topics: Children and Youth ; Gambling Environment ; Information for Operators ; Priority Populations

Conceptual Framework Factors: Psychological Factors ; Social - Family and Peer Gambling Involvement ; Psychological - Adverse Childhood Experiences ; Biological Factors ; Social Factors ; Biological - Genetic Inheritance

Study Design: Secondary Data Analysis

Geographic Coverage: United Kingdom, England

Study Population: Parents and their children born and living in Avon, England. (N=1,058 children)

Sampling Procedure: The researchers reviewed survey data from children and parents who had taken part in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). The ALSPAC recruited a large sample of parents and children who were born in 1991–1992. The researchers examined data from children who had completed a problem gambling screen at the age of 20. Their parents had completed a screen of their own gambling behaviour when the children were aged 6.

Study Funding:

The UK Medical Research Council and Wellcome and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC. Collection of data on gambling by young people analysed here was specifically funded by GambleAware, an independent charity in the United Kingdom.