THE ACQUISITION, DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF FRUIT MACHINE GAMBLING IN ADOLESCENCE (GAMBLING)

Study 1 was in the form of informal discussions and interviews with a group of self confessed "fruit machine addicts". Results indicated that adolescent gambling was male dominated and that pathological gambling was not an adult only phenomenon. The study also suggested that pathological gambling led to a number of negative behavioural consequences and that the role of 'skill' and 'arousal' were important factors in the maintenance of fruit machine gambling.

Study 2 involved the interviewing of 50 fruit machine players. It was again concluded that fruit machine gambling is male dominated and that 18% of the user sample (9 males) were deemed to be pathological gamblers as measured by the American Psychiatric Association (1987) diagnostic criteria. Sociological factors appeared to be critical in the acquisition of gambling behaviour whereas psychological and physiological factors appeared to be more important in development and maintenance.

Study 3 involved the monitoring of 33 amusement arcades over a 28 month period by participant and non-participant observation. More adolescent males than adolescent females play fruit machines at all times of the day and year, and that fruit machine players display similar behavioural characteristics and follow informal arcade "rules". Motivations for gambling were multi-determined although for heavier players the role of skill and arousal appeared critical in maintenance.

Study 4 involved a postal survey of "ex-fruit machine addicts" utilizing a questionnaire. Although the response rate was low, self written reports of individuals' fruit machine playing histories supported quantitative results from previous studies in this thesis. Study 5 compared 30 regular and 30 non-regular fruit machine players gambling behaviour and their cognitive biases using the thinking aloud method while playing fruit machines. Regular players did not differ significantly from non-regular players on many of the behavioural variables but did produce significantly more irrational verbalizations. In Study 6 the heart rates of 5 regular fruit machine players and 15 non-regular fruit machine players while playing fruit machines were compared between groups and within groups. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)