Mom, Dad It’s Only a Game! Perceived Gambling and Gaming Behaviors among Adolescents and Young Adults: an Exploratory Study

Gambling and gaming are increasingly popular activities among adolescents. Although gambling is illegal in Portugal for youth under the age of 18 years, gambling opportunities are growing, mainly due to similarity between gambling and other technology-based games. Given the relationship between gambling and gaming activities, the paucity of research on gambling and gaming behaviors in Portugal, and the potential negative consequences in the lives of young people, the goal of this study was to explore and compare the perceptions of these two behaviors between Portuguese adolescents and young adults. Results from six focus groups (three with adolescents and three with young adults, comprising 37 participants aged between 13 and 26 years) indicated different perceptions for the two age groups. For adolescents, gaming was associated with addiction whereas for young adults it was perceived a tool for increasing personal and social skills. With regard to gambling, adolescents associated it with luck and financial rewards, whereas young adults perceived it as an activity with more risks than benefits. These results suggest developmental differences that have implications for intervention programs and future research

Choice of Consistent Family, and Quantum Incompatibility

In consistent history quantum theory, a description of the time development of a quantum system requires choosing a framework or consistent family, and then calculating probabilities for the different histories which it contains. It is argued that the framework is chosen by the physicist constructing a description of a quantum system on the basis of questions he wishes to address, in a manner analogous to choosing a coarse graining of the phase space in classical statistical mechanics. The choice of framework is not determined by some law of nature, though it is limited by quantum incompatibility, a concept which is discussed using a two-dimensional Hilbert space (spin half particle). Thus certain questions of physical interest can only be addressed using frameworks in which they make (quantum mechanical) sense. The physicist's choice does not influence reality, nor does the presence of choices render the theory subjective. On the contrary, predictions of the theory can, in principle, be verified by experimental measurements. These considerations are used to address various criticisms and possible misunderstandings of the consistent history approach, including its predictive power, whether it requires a new logic, whether it can be interpreted realistically, the nature of ``quasiclassicality'', and the possibility of ``contrary'' inferences.Comment: Minor revisions to bring into conformity with published version. Revtex 29 pages including 1 page with figure

Comment on "Plasma ionization by annularly bounded helicon waves" [Phys . Plasmas 13, 063501 (2006)]

The neoclassical calculation of the helicon wave theory contains a fundamental flaw. Use is made of a proportional relationship between the magnetic field and its curl to derive the Helmholtz equation describing helicon wave propagation; however, by the fundamental theorem of Stokes, the curl of the magnetic field must be perpendicular to that portion of the field contributing to the local curl. Reexamination of the equations of motion indicates that only electromagnetic waves propagate through a stationary region of constant pressure in a fully ionized, neutral medium.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, to be published in Phys. Plasmas, http://link.aip.org/link/?PHPAEN/16/054701/

The Prevalence of Workaholism: A Survey Study in a Nationally Representative Sample of Norwegian Employees

Workaholism has become an increasingly popular area for empirical study. However, most studies examining the prevalence of workaholism have used non-representative samples and measures with poorly defined cut-off scores. To overcome these methodological limitations, a nationally representative survey among employees in Norway (N = 1,124) was conducted. Questions relating to gender, age, marital status, caretaker responsibility for children, percentage of full-time equivalent, and educational level were asked. Workaholism was assessed by the use of a psychometrically validated instrument (i.e., Bergen Work Addiction Scale). Personality was assessed using the Mini-International Personality Item Pool. Results showed that the prevalence of workaholism was 8.3% (95% CI = 6.7–9.9%). An adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that workaholism was negatively related to age and positively related to the personality dimensions agreeableness, neuroticism, and intellect/imagination. Implications for these findings are discussed

Geometry of Universal Magnification Invariants

Recent work in gravitational lensing and catastrophe theory has shown that the sum of the signed magnifications of images near folds, cusps and also higher catastrophes is zero. Here, it is discussed how Lefschetz fixed point theory can be used to interpret this result geometrically. It is shown for the generic case as well as for elliptic and hyperbolic umbilics in gravitational lensing.Comment: RevTEX4, 13 pages, submitted to J. Math. Phy

Ballistic electron spectroscopy

We demonstrate the feasibility of ballistic electron spectroscopy as a new tool for mesoscopic physics. A quantum dot is utilised as an energy-selective detector of non-equilibrium ballistic electrons injected into a two-dimensional electron system. In this paper we use a second quantum dot as the electron injector to evaluate the scheme. We propose an application in the study of interacting 1D and 0D systems.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure

Validation of the Portuguese DSM-IV-MR-J

Youth problem gambling is viewed as an emergent public health issue in many countries, and is also an emerging area of public concern in Portugal. However, there is currently no Portuguese instrument that focuses specifically on the measurement of problem gambling among young people. Consequently, the present study aimed to validate the DSM-IV-MR-J for use among Portuguese adolescents and to examine its’ psychometric properties. A cross-cultural adaption of this instrument to the Portuguese language was performed using the translation and back translation method. The final version of the instrument was administered to 753 Portuguese high school and first year college students. The findings revealed an acceptable internal reliability and replicated the one-factor structure of this scale. Based on these findings, the Portuguese DSMIV-MR-J appears to be a valid and reliable instrument, and provides a much needed psychometric tool for the development of more research on youth gambling in Portugal

Prevalence of adolescent problem gambling: a systematic review of recent research

Previous research has shown that gambling is a popular activity among adolescents. Following a rapid expansion of legalized gambling opportunities and the emergence of new forms of gambling, many researchers have carried out studies on adolescent gambling and problem gambling. The present paper reviews studies that have been conducted worldwide since 2000, and then presents a more detailed picture of adolescent gambling research in Europe, by providing a country-by country analysis. After an extensive search on academic databases and following an exclusion process, 44 studies were identified. The findings showed that 0.2–12.3% of youth meet criteria for problem gambling, notwithstanding differences among assessment instruments, cut-offs, and timeframes. However, despite this variability, several demographic characteristics were associated with adolescent gambling involvement and problem gambling. It is concluded that a small but significant minority of adolescents have gambling-related problems. Such findings will hopefully encourage more research into youth gambling to further understand the determinants of this phenomenon

Gambling among adolescents and emerging adults: a cross-cultural study between Portuguese and English youth

In spite of age prohibitions, most research suggests that a large proportion of adolescents engage in gambling, with problem gambling prevalence rates significantly higher than in adults. There is some evidence suggesting that there are cultural variables that might explain the development of gambling behaviours in this age group. However, cross-cultural studies on this field are generally lacking. The present study tested a model in which individual and family variables are integrated into a single perspective as predictors of youth gambling behaviour in two different contexts (i.e. Portugal and England). A total of 1137 adolescents and young adults (552 Portuguese and 585 English) were surveyed with items relating to problem gambling, gambling frequency, sensation seeking, parental attachment, and cognitive distortions. Moreover, this study is the first to examine the mediation effect of sensation seeking between attachment and youth problem gambling. Results demonstrated that English youth showed a higher prevalence of problem gambling. The findings of this study also demonstrated that sensation seeking was a common predictor, mediating the relationship between attachment and problem gambling in both countries. The findings of this study suggest that although there were some common factors between the two samples, youth problem gambling and some risk factors can be influenced by the cultural context