Purpose : To assess the characteristics and associated risk factors of young problematic gamblers.
Methods: Data were drawn from the GenerationFRee study, a Swiss cross-sectional in-school survey including 5179 youths aged 15-24 (mean age 18.3). Among these participants, 1371 (26.5%) reported having gambled in the last 12 months and were included in the study. Gamblers were divided into two groups according to the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) scale adapted for adolescents: non-problematic gamblers (SOGS<2; N=1116) and at risk/problematic gamblers (SOGS>=2; N=255). Participants reported demographic, family and academic data, risk behaviors (current smoking, alcohol misuse, cannabis use, use of other illegal drugs, violent and antisocial acts, and Internet addiction) and sensation seeking. All variables significant at the bivariate level were included in a logistic regression analysis to assess the variables associated with at risk/problematic gambling using non-problematic gamblers as the reference category. Data are presented as adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence interval.