Australian research indicates that gambling participation increases dramatically when young people reach the legal gambling age of 18, with many forms of gambling showing substantial increases as young people gain legal access.
Analyse how individual strengthening skills can protect young people from developing gambling problems and enhance their overall wellbeing as they transition into legal gambling accessibility. (8 marks)
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*Language to use that helps to highlight relationships and draw out implications is bolded.
Overview Statement
- Individual strengthening skills including self-efficacy, health literacy, problem solving and resilience, interact with each other to protect young people from gambling problems.
- These skills form protective relationships that influence decision-making as young people become old enough to legally gamble.
Self-efficacy and Health Literacy Relationship
- Self-efficacy crosses over with health literacy by enabling young people to understand gambling risks.
- When young people understand how gambling odds work against them and recognise addiction warning signs, they make informed choices to avoid gambling.
- Evidence shows young adults with high self-efficacy combined with gambling awareness reduce participation by almost 50%.
- This means that knowledge alone isn’t sufficient – confidence to act on that knowledge determines protective outcomes.
- Therefore, these skills work together to resist peer pressure.
Problem-solving and Resilience Interaction
- Problem-solving abilities depend on resilience when facing circumstances that trigger gambling urges.
- Resilient young people use problem-solving to identify healthy alternatives like sport participation.
- This relationship enables them to address real world pressures without any accompanying financial risk.
- Consequently, this combination prevents gambling becoming a coping mechanism for adult pressures.
Implications and Synthesis
- These skills function as an integrated protection system rather than isolated factors.
- Evidence indicates that pre-adult skill development can result in lifelong gambling resistance and the critical importance of pre-emptive education programs.
- By strengthening multiple skills simultaneously, individuals can create a strong protection against gambling.
- Young people equipped with this skill system are much more likely to transition safely into legal gambling age.
*Language to use that helps to highlight relationships and draw out implications is bolded.
Overview Statement
- Individual strengthening skills including self-efficacy, health literacy, problem solving and resilience, interact with each other to protect young people from gambling problems.
- These skills form protective relationships that influence decision-making as young people become old enough to legally gamble.
Self-efficacy and Health Literacy Relationship
- Self-efficacy crosses over with health literacy by enabling young people to understand gambling risks.
- When young people understand how gambling odds work against them and recognise addiction warning signs, they make informed choices to avoid gambling.
- Evidence shows young adults with high self-efficacy combined with gambling awareness reduce participation by almost 50%.
- This means that knowledge alone isn’t sufficient – confidence to act on that knowledge determines protective outcomes.
- Therefore, these skills work together to resist peer pressure.
Problem-solving and Resilience Interaction
- Problem-solving abilities depend on resilience when facing circumstances that trigger gambling urges.
- Resilient young people use problem-solving to identify healthy alternatives like sport participation.
- This relationship enables them to address real world pressures without any accompanying financial risk.
- Consequently, this combination prevents gambling becoming a coping mechanism for adult pressures.
Implications and Synthesis
- These skills function as an integrated protection system rather than isolated factors.
- Evidence indicates that pre-adult skill development can result in lifelong gambling resistance and the critical importance of pre-emptive education programs.
- By strengthening multiple skills simultaneously, individuals can create a strong protection against gambling.
- Young people equipped with this skill system are much more likely to transition safely into legal gambling age.