Past Issues

Objective: Exposure to online gambling sites may increase the risk of gambling among adolescents. This one-year follow-up study intended to examine the cross-sectional and prospective associations of demographic characteristics, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), behavioral problems, impulsivity, and parenting styles with adolescent exposure to online gambling sites and investigated the associations between such exposure and depression, suicidality, and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). Methods: Totally 349 adolescents (176 with ADHD and 173 typically developing) participated in the baseline assessment of exposure to online gambling sites, behavioral problems, impulsivity, and parenting styles. At the one-year follow-up, 249 adolescents completed the assessments of exposure to online gambling sites during the preceding year, as well as levels of depression, suicidality, and NSSI. Results: Cross-sectionally, older age (p < 0.05), a lack of foresight and self-control (p < 0.05), and caring or affectionate parenting (p < 0.05) were significantly associated with exposure to online gambling sites. Prospectively, older age (p < 0.001), a lack of foresight and self-control (p < 0.05), and baseline exposure to online gambling sites (p < 0.05) significantly predicted subsequent exposure. Exposure to online gambling sites was crosssectionally significantly associated with depression (p < 0.05), suicidality (p < 0.01), and NSSI (p < 0.001) and prospectively significantly predicted NSSI at the one-year follow-up (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Individual characteristics and parent–adolescent interaction factors are crosssectionally and prospectively associated with exposure to online gambling sites. Such exposure is also crosssectionally and prospectively associated with mental health problems, particularly NSSI, among adolescents.