A Thematic Analysis of Young Adults’ Perspectives of Gambling and its Representation on Media

The impact of technology has been a key interest in gambling literature. Quantitative research studies appear to be prominent in the gambling field identifying positive correlations between positive attitudes towards gambling and problem gambling. Given the increased coverage of gambling in the media and the advances in technology, young people are more exposed to the behaviour. Young adults at the age of 18 are legal to gamble anywhere, it would be important for us to understand how they perceive gambling in order to shape support services for young people with problem gambling.
This study aims to shed light on young adults’ perspectives of gambling and its representation in the media using a qualitative design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 10 participants between 18-25 years of age as they were deemed as young adults. Thematic analysis (TA) was used to analysis the transcripts. The analysis revealed three main themes; ‘Temptation’, ‘Stay Away’ and ‘What Would Others Think?’. Each theme consisted of four subthemes which illustrates how the participants perceived gambling and the factors that contributed to their perspective and understanding.
The research findings illustrated that society and the media play a vital role in providing the participants with details of gambling. Participants all appeared to be enticed by advertisements and chances of winning in gambling but displayed ambivalence due to the consequences and stereotypes in gambling. There appeared to be evidence of a dilemmatic element in regard to gambling which was understood as the participants battling with common-sense.
The research highlights a need to raise awareness of the consequences of gambling amongst young people and shape support services to acknowledge the tensions that gambling clients may face. The limitations of the study, implications for Counselling psychologists and recommendations for future research are presented.