Ricerc@Sapienza

Despite the multidimensional/ecological integrative perspective that suggests that the risk for problem gambling
in adolescents can be determined by an interactive effect of different risk factors, few studies have investigated
how different individual factors may affect the risk for problem gambling in a multiplicative way. This study
aimed at exploring the interaction between immigrant status (IS) and sensation seeking (SS) on adolescent
problem-gambling severity. The study involved 994 Italian adolescents (64% boys, Mage = 16.57, SD = 1.62).
Participants’ IS, SS and problem-gambling severity were individually assessed through, respectively, a sociodemographic
questionnaire, the Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (BSSS) and the South Oaks Gambling Screen – Revised
for Adolescents (SOGS-RA). Results showed that, among immigrant adolescents, there were higher levels of
problem-gambling severity and a higher distribution of at-risk and problem gamblers with respect to non-immigrant
adolescents. Both IS and SS had significant direct effects on problem-gambling severity, with IS and
higher levels of SS being predictors of greater severity. A moderation analysis – controlling for gender and age –
showed that adolescents with high scores of SS were more prone to experience gambling problems if they were
also immigrant. These results have important implications for practice as they emphasize that specific interventions
aimed at preventing problem gambling would be required for adolescents from immigrant families. In
particular, it would be important to consider the role of SS in this specific youth target.