The role of time perspective on problem gambling in adolescence

Time perspective can be defined as a personal experience of time, i.e., a mental picture of the past, present and future. Despite previous research has focused on the relationship between gambling and time perspective among adult gamblers, fewer studies have until now analyzed this relationship among youth. Moving from these premises, the aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between time perspective and problem gambling among an adolescent sample. Participants were 289 adolescents (77% males, mean age=16.78, SD=1.50) attending high school in Italy. The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) was used to measure time perspective and the South Oaks Gambling Screen – Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA) was administered to relieve the severity of gambling problems. A regression analysis was conducted to investigate the impact of the specific time perspective facets on problem gambling, considering the SOGS-RA total scores as dependent variables. Results indicated that the model was significant (p<.001). The time perspective dimensions that resulted to have a significant predictive power on problem gambling were Future (=-.13, p<.05) and Present Fatalistic (=.18, p<.05). This study suggests that it would be useful for interventions aimed at preventing adolescents from problem gambling to act on disadvantageous youth’s beliefs on time, particularly on the perception of the present as a time to live with resignation and the perception of the future without planning of goals and aspirations.