engleski

Prevalence of gambling and gambling-related problems among university students in Croatia

Gambling is a widespread phenomenon that can be addictive and cause serious adverse psychosocial consequences. One of the most vulnerable groups are students, which is confirmed by numerous international studies. However, in Croatia there is a lack of studies focusing on this specific group and, therefore, the main aim of this study is to explore the key characteristics of Croatian students' gambling. The research was conducted with a convenient sample of N=641 participants, consisting of students from a total of 26 higher educational institutions in the Republic of Croatia (females=52.7%, males=47.3% ; Mage=21.25 years, SDage=2.226). In addition to the Questionnaire on basic sociodemographic data, the Gambling Activity Questionnaire and the Problem Gambling Severity Index were used. The results show that the lifetime prevalence of gambling among university students is 83.9%, with significant gender differences. In terms of gambling frequency, male students play almost all games of chance more frequently, with the exception of scratch cards, which are played more often by female students. In terms of gambling- related problems, approximately 4.5% of students met the criteria for problem gambling. Again, gender differences were found, showing that males were more represented in all PGSI categories indicating the presence of problems. The results will be interpreted in the context of the need to raise awareness of the existence of gambling-related problems in the student population and prevent the development of adverse consequences in the future.

students ; gambling ; gambling frequency ; gambling related problems

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