Macau parents' perceptions of underage children's gambling involvement.

OBJECTIVES: The study examined Macau parents' perceptions of underage children's gambling involvement, and parents' attitudes towards help seeking if their children had a gambling problem. The parents' gambling behavior in the past year was also investigated.

METHODS: This is a parent survey using a self-administered questionnaire. A convenience sample of 311 Macau parents (106 fathers and 205 mothers) with underage children aged 3-17 years was recruited. The response rate is 77.8%. The participants were asked if they had ever approved or taught their underage children to gamble, and how did they award their children when they won in gambling games. The parents were also asked if they had gambled in the previous 12 months, and their gambling behavior was assessed by the Chinese Problem Gambling Severity Index (CPGSI).

RESULTS: Half of the parents surveyed (52%) did not approve underage gambling but 81% taught their underage children to play different gambling games. Children were awarded with money (55%), praises (17.5%), toys (15%) and food (12.5%) when they won in games. One-fifth (20.6%) were distressed with their children's gambling problem. Many (68.8%) were willing to seek help to cope with children's gambling problems. Only 21.2% (n = 66) of the parents reported gambling in the past year. Using the CPGSI, 4.5% of these gamblers could be identified as problem gamblers, and 16.7% were moderate-risk gamblers.

CONCLUSION: The study results indicate parent education should be included in prevention of underage gambling.