WHAT: News Briefing: What is the Prevalence of Youth Gambling and How Addicting is it?

WHEN: Saturday, August 15, 1998 at 10:00 AM

WHERE: The Palace Hotel, Napa Room, San Francisco, CA

Pathological gambling is more prevalent among youth than adults. Between five and eight percent of young Americans and Canadians have a serious gambling problem compared with one to three percent of adults. Research conducted over the past five years shows that adolescents may become more addicted to gambling than they are to alcohol, smoking and drugs and sometimes gamble for reasons other than winning money. Researchers will discuss the current trends in youth gambling, reasons for gambling and the latest prevention efforts to curb this escalating problem.

PARTICIPANTS:

Randy Stinchfield, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Youth Gambling: Prevalence and Trends

Rina Gupta, Ph.D., McGill University, Youth Gambling: Some Risk Factors Predicting Probable Pathological Gambling Behavior

Jeffrey L. Derevensky, Ph.D., McGill University, Youth Gambling: Some Risk Factors Predicting Probable Pathological Gambling Behavior

Durand Jacobs, Ph.D., Redland, CA, Youth Gambling and Dissociative Behaviors: Predicting Addictive Behaviors

The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 151,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 50 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 59 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting human welfare.