GAMBLING ENVIRONMENT AND THE RISK FOR GAMBLING ADDICTION: A BIOECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE ROLE OF ADOLESCENTS’ BELIEFS AND VALUE SYSTEM

Since the monopoly system of Macao Gambling Industry ended in 2002, adolescents have been exposed to the openness of the gambling environment. The purpose of this thesis is to identify how environmental factors influence the role of adolescents’ beliefs and value systems, from which adolescents might be subject to the risk of gambling addiction from a bioecological perspective. This thesis identified the unique environmental factors influencing gambling addiction of adolescents in Macao, with reference to Hong Kong and Porto from the theoretical aspect; and promoted University-Community Partnership collaborating and linking academic with practice. This thesis consisted of a quantitative approach (Study 1) to analyse and evaluate the existing yearly cross-sectional data from 2013 to 2022 through Bosco Youth Service Network’s Youth Gambling Prevention Program. Mixed methods were used in Study 2. Quantitative data was collected from Macao, Hong Kong and Porto and qualitative data was collected through focus groups in Macao (an embedded design to supplement the quantitative survey) and in Porto (an exploratory study on the need of quantitative survey).
The results of the empirical studies showed that the availability and accessibility of gambling activities, and the accessibility of money contribute to the risk of gambling addiction of adolescents in Macao. Compared to Hong Kong and Porto, (1) Macao has higher youth gambling participation rate; entertainment as gambling motive is higher; started to gamble earlier; spent more time and money on gambling, family functions’ satisfaction is lower and more parents working on shift, which are contributing factors to gambling disorder; (2) Macao scored significantly lower in gamblers’ belief in illusion of control; but gambling disorder participants in Macau and Hong Kong scored higher in Luck/Perseverance; (3) adolescents from Macao was less Open-to-Change, less Self-Transcendent and less Self-Enhanced. Recommendations at the micro-level: to provide financial management training, assertiveness training, value education in Universalism, and complements with structured activities to adolescents; to promote family functioning, and support for working mothers such as family-friendly policy in workplace; at the exo-level: to implement systemic research at different stages of adolescents’ academic life; at the macro-level: to implement identity checking for people entering casinos, to raise the legal sports betting age to 21, to implement a stricter policy on gambling related advertisement and to move gambling venues away from local residential areas.
Overall, this thesis contributes to the understanding of the unique situation in Macao regarding adolescents who are subject to the risk of gambling addiction from a bioecological perspective.