Future orientation, gambling and risk gambling among youth: a study of adolescents in Stockholm

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the association between adolescents’ future orientation and their engagement in gambling and in risk gambling, respectively. The data used come from the Stockholm School Survey, collected in 2016 among students in the ninth grade in elementary school (15–16 years) and in the second grade of upper secondary school (17–18 years) in Stockholm municipality (n = 11,661). The results showed that adolescents who expected their future to be ‘much worse’ than that of others were more inclined to engage in gambling and in risk gambling compared with adolescents who expected their future to be similar to that of others. Furthermore, adolescents who expected their future to be ‘much better’ than that of others had an increased likelihood of engaging in gambling but not in risk gambling. The results are discussed in the light of elements from rational choice theory.