December 2000
In this edition of Beyond the Odds, Dr. Randy Stinchfield presents an analysis of gambling behavior among Minnesota's youth in the 9th and 12th grades. He found that a majority of students gambled yet most did not report any problem associated with their gambling.
An important area that the survey did not address was the number of young people living in homes where someone else has a gambling problem. While precise numbers are not known, Helpline calls and other sources indicate many young people are being affected by a family members gambling. More recently, as we address gambling problems among youth, it is important that we include those young people affected by someone else's gambling. I can remember taking a call from a sobbing young person during the last week of August whose parents had gone gambling and didn't come home to take here to her high school orientation. She said, "Now I won't know where to go on the first day of school or where my locker is." To some this may not sound like a big deal, but to this caller it was huge.
I recall a week-long WCCO TV summer special on gambling several years ago. Both during and following a special hour long program on Thursday night, phone lines were open for viewers to call with a gambling problem or concern. Those of us answering the phone took calls from twelve young people. These school age callers got through eight jam-packed telephone lines, between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m., while watching an adult program with questions about a family member with a gambling problem. Actually, the poster on this page was developed and sent to all school counselors as a result of this experience.
In This Issue
Gambling Problems Resource Center
2720 Highway 10
Mounds View, MN 55112