Gambling Addiction among Adolescents

Adolescence is a stage of life characterized by many emotional and behavioral changes, which makes the development of addictive behaviors among teenagers a public health issue of special concern for mental health specialists all across the world. Studies made by BlinnPike, et al. [2] have shown that the main criteria for diagnosing a gambling addiction among teenagers were: engagement in illegal acts, loss of control, tolerance and lies. The observable behavior of young gamblers masks their hidden feelings of inferiority, insecurity and inadequacy, which is why pathological gamblers make many friends in front of whom they show off, given that their low level of self-esteem goes back to their childhood, when their parents’ lack of appreciation for them led them to think that life brings no joy and that they should seek their fulfillment via gambling [3].