Religious background and gambling among young adults in the United States

Citation

Uecker, Jeremy E. & Stokes, Charles E. (2016). Religious background and gambling among young adults in the United States. Journal of Gambling Studies. vol. 32 (1) pp. 341-361

Abstract

Despite the rapid growth of the gambling industry over the last 40 years, there have been few large-scale, nationally representative longitudinal studies of gambling among young adults. We use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to investigate whether and how the gambling behavior of young adults is associated with their religious beliefs and practices during adolescence. We find that young adults who grew up as conservative Protestants, mainline Protestants, Mormons, and Jehovah's Witnesses; those were raised in a community with a higher percentage of conservative Protestants; and those who attended religious services weekly are less likely to have ever gambled. Among gamblers, young adults who attended religious services up to three times per month as adolescents are more likely to experience gambling problems than those who never attend. Notably, accounting for a young adult's propensity for risk-taking behavior does not explain the associations between religion and gambling.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10899-015-9532-3

Keyword(s)

Religion

Notes

1573-3602 Uecker, Jeremy E Stokes, Charles E Journal article J Gambl Stud. 2015 Feb 27.

Reference Type

Journal Article

Journal Title

Journal of Gambling Studies

Author(s)

Uecker, Jeremy E.
Stokes, Charles E.

Year Published

2016

Volume Number

32

Issue Number

1

Pages

341-361

Edition

February 26, 2015

ISSN/ISBN

1050-5350

DOI

10.1007/s10899-015-9532-3

Reference ID

8035