Derevensky and Gupta at McGill’s International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems are two of the most prolific authorities on the correlates of youth and problem gambling. According to their synthesis of the existing literature, the following conditions are empirically supported risk factors for problem gambling (Stinchfield, 2004):

• delinquency and crime;
• disruption of familial relationships;
• poor academic performance;
• high levels of suicide ideation and suicide attempts;
• being male;
• gambling started at an early age (approximately 10 years old);
• low self-esteem;
• more depressive symptoms;
• high scores on measures of dissociation;
• report more traumatic life events;
• poor family connectedness; and
• low perceived social support.

(The above list was compiled from the following sources: Derevensky and Gupta, 2001; Gupta and Derevensky, 1998; Hardoon and Derevensky, 2002; Kaufman et al., 2002; Ladouceur and Mireault, 1988; Lesieur and Klein, 1987; National Opinion Research Center, 1999; National Research Council, 1999; Nower et al., 2003; Stinchfield, 2000; Volberg, 1998; and Wynne et al., 1996.)

Also from McGill’s International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems, Dickson et al. (2003) produced a report for the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre based on Ontario youth from grades 7 to 13, entitled Youth Gambling Problems: The Identification of Risk and Protective Factors. Listed below are their main findings:

Protective Factors

• family cohesion
• school connectedness

Risk Factors

• family members and peers with gambling problems
• family members and peers with drinking or substance abuse problems
• the death of a close friend or family member or the arrest of a family member
• personal illness
• low self-perceived academic achievement
• elevated school problems
• ineffective coping strategies

Non-Risk Factors

• having a relationship with a mentor
• involvement in conventional recreational activities
• having the character trait of “high achievement motivation”

Griffiths and Wood (2000), in their summary of risk factors for youth problem gambling, note that adolescents with gambling problems are more likely to fit the following characterizations:

• be male;
• have begun gambling at an early age (as young as 8 years old);
• have had a big win early in their gambling careers;
• consistently chase losses;
• have begun gambling with their parents or alone;
• be depressed before gambling;
• be excited and aroused during gambling;
• be irrational (i.e., have erroneous perceptions) during gambling;
• have poor grades at school;
• engage in other addictive behaviours (smoking, drinking alcohol or illegal drug use);
• come from lower social classes;
• have parents who have a gambling (or other addiction) problem;
• have a history of delinquency and/or steal money to fund their gambling; and
• be truant from school to go gambling.